From Virtue Onlne - Episcopal Bishop To Be Deposed for Traditional Biblical Views

 Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.
Do his actions remind you of Matt Harrison's "established doctrines of the Lutheran Church" (Missouri Synod)?

Virtue Online:

ALBANY EPISCOPAL BISHOP FACES ECCLESIASTICAL EXECUTION

The news broke just before lunch on Friday, January 11.

The Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, dubbed the "love bishop" for his endless talk about love, announced that the godly orthodox Bishop of Albany, William H. Love is hereby "partially restricted" from performing his duties as a bishop, because he had canonically offended the Church by refusing to allow homosexual marriages in his diocese.

Under Canon IV.4(1)(c) he now faces a trial where he will inevitably be inhibited, deposed and thrown out of the Episcopal Church. His ecclesiastical fate is sealed forever.

Bishop Love is a Bible believing, evangelical catholic who believes in God's Word written more than he believes in the efficacy of General Convention resolutions, many of which have gone against God's revealed Word and will for our lives.

He is the last of the orthodox bishops in The Episcopal Church, and now he will soon be gone because he refuses to succumb to the siren call of Resolution B012 which demanded that every diocese allow homoerotic couples to receive the Church's blessing on their coupling, even though Scripture denounces sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman as the only ideal God recognizes and approves.

This resolution is the final stand in a decades long march by Episcopal pansexualists to push their sexual behavior onto a gullible House of Bishops and clergy in the hope that their new-fangled doctrine of inclusion would somehow fill churches with homosexuals and lesbians just waiting to push open the red doors in the name of diversity.

That has not happened. In fact, the reverse has happened. The election and ordination of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire promptly emptied the Episcopal Church of more than 100,000 members, resulting in the birth of the Anglican Church in North America.

But still a handful of bishops, calling themselves Communion Partners, (CP) thought they could stand and stay as the Church's loyal opposition; their views honorably respected by the other side.

Over time, opposition grew dimmer, as one by one the CP bishops died or retired with no replacement for their views being found in incoming new bishops who swore fealty to the prevailing presiding bishop. It also became apparent that the House of Bishops would only give consents to bishops who permitted the progressive and revisionist agenda of the Church. In fact, eligibility to be a bishop, (preferably now women) was only possible if one signed on to the predominant sexual zeitgeist.

KISSING JUDASES

The Episcopal Church's progressive and revisionist hierarchy have, tragically, become "kissing Judases" (taken from Søren Kierkegaard) --- followers of Jesus who betray him and his teachings, hell bent with every nerve to reach successive generations of the cultured despisers of the Gospel: and then join them and become like them, no longer faithful to Jesus Christ. As Christian sociologist Os Guinness noted, "Some have surrendered to Enlightenment ideas, and become skeptics about God's sovereignty, or skeptics about human sin, or skeptics about the possibility of the supernatural and any world beyond the here and now."

The Communion Partner bishops are quislings who issued statements disavowing B012, but intent on staying in TEC, becoming traitors of the gospel. They collaborate with Curry and the HOB, washing their hands Pilate fashion, assigning progressive bishops to do what they themselves won't do. They submit "pastoral care" to another bishop or a DEPO bishop, as Central Florida Bishop Greg Brewer has done.

Ironically, Brewer got raked over the coals, when a woman priest, the Rev. Alison Harrity, rector at St. Richard's Episcopal Church in Winter Park, told ENS that when she informed Brewer that two men of the parish had asked her to perform their marriage, the bishop told her, "St. Richard's needs a broader oversight." Brewer delegated episcopal pastoral oversight to Kentucky Bishop Terry Allen White, Harrity said. Brewer "didn't even say, 'Let's have a conversation'; he just gave us away." However, Harrity added that the DEPO arrangement feels freeing to her and the congregation.

But as Jesus reminded his hearers; "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." These quisling bishops who claim the mantle of orthodoxy will have to answer for their sin of commission.

"Any denomination that eliminates a male-female requirement for marriage breaks faith with a foundational element in our Lord Jesus' sexual ethics. It breaks faith also with the apostolic witness to Christ in the New Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures that preceded Jesus, and the historic tradition of the Church universal," writes Dr. Robert Gagnon, theologian and world authority on homosexuality and the Bible.

"Jesus regarded God's creation of "male and female" (Genesis 1:27) as the foundation for all other sexual commands. According to Jesus, God's creation of two complementary sexes is our best indication that God intended marriage to be limited to two persons. This suggests that for Jesus homosexual practice was a more severe violation of God's will at creation than unions involving three or more persons, because it strikes at the very foundation of marriage.

"The Apostle Paul teaches that for a person to attempt sexual union with someone of the same sex is to "dishonor" or "degrade" oneself, for it treats one's sex or gender as only half intact in relation to one's own sex as opposed to the other sex. Rather than have the two halves of the sexual spectrum, male and female, unite to form a single sexual whole, a homosexual union presents a bizarre picture of two incomplete half-males attempting to become a single whole male or two incomplete half females attempting to become a single whole female. Approving homosexual practice in the Church is the antithesis of love because it celebrates that which dishonors the God-bestowed stamp of gender."

Bishop William H. Love will stand before his Lord "in that day" secure in the knowledge that he obeyed Scripture rather than pleasing a group of mitered men and women who approved a resolution that had the blessing of the culture. Theirs may well be a different end.

END

 In 2004, Bishop and Mrs. Robinson...

 ...tore The Episcopal Church apart.
And then they divorced. ELCA decided to join the fun.

 Bishop Guy Erwin was the Confessional Professor for ELCA, like the gay activist Wengert of Kolb-Wengert Book of Concord fame. The 2009 ELCA vote shattered the denomination.

Variations on a Theme by Satan - Mobbing Shows a Lack of Faith. As Wise as Doves, As Innocent as Serpents

The Mobbing article by Floyd Luther Stolzenburg's successor at St. Mark, Columbus, continues to incite discussion. The behavior of clergy and laity in denominations and Holy Rome is no different than what can be found in corporations. The one big difference is that corporations necessarily protect people from many forms of abuse because the law says they must.

Religious institutions are not governed by the law in dealing with employees: clergy, teachers, organists, staff. When a married pastor was hitting on a young single teacher, and she sought advice, she was blamed, fired, and removed from the calling list. The pastor was moved, not to repentance, but to another parish. It happened before - he was protected, she was not.

When Stolzenburg was forced to resign his call in St. Louis, he came to Columbus, Ohio. The WELS Michigan District clamored to make him their Church Growth Consultant, even though he was also taken to court by the husband of one of his targets. No problem! The hiring board refused to hire Floyd. No problem! WELS made it happen.

As apostasy spreads through Objective Justification, accelerating apostasy, the evil fruit of non-faith grows in a harvest of shame. I know readers shocked by the facts of the Mobbing article, but they are mild.

I could tell stories of many future pastors who were run down and left for dead by the synodical steamroller - LCMS or WELS - while others did nothing in response. I know unbelieving and adulterous laity can be malicious in serving their Father Below, but they need their synodical bosses to energize, enable, and leverage the damage.

If I told the stories, the men and families involved would be wounded all over again.

The LCMS has an interesting two-faced approach. If someone wants to be Synod President, he better kiss up to Herman Otten. However, anyone dealing openly with Otten will be totally shunned by the mobsters he helped achieve power.

WELS has a similar system. Certain people, like John Brug, keep Herman happy and spin everything for him. They encourage him to spike stories of murder, adultery, alcoholism, and seduction. In turn, Otten treats WELS as doctrinal heaven, a light to lighten the Missourians. But do not identify with Otten as a WELS pastor, or the axe will fall. Everyone knows the rules, but no one can recall who wrote them.

  This is Luther summarizing St. Paul.
He did not organize church socials.

Synods Destroying Themselves
When I first began playing computer chess, I was willing to sacrifice pawns for a seeming advantage. I soon learned how much I needed them in the late game.

The church politicians - all of them - think they can sacrifice people who get in their way, sometimes to make progress, sometimes out of pure spite to make up for their difficulties when being potty trained. They have been sacrificing pastors, teachers, lay leaders, entire congregations - for decades - and now each sect is dead and hollowed out.

One Thing Is Needful
A congregation only needs to teach and preach faith from the Scriptures. I have no less an authority than Jesus on this. The Church is the instrument of the Holy Spirit. Don't we wear red for Pentecost when donning our glad rags for an ordination, installation, or similar event? Yes.

What is the chief office of the Holy Spirit in the Word. Jesus said, "To convict the world of sin..."

"Of sin, because they believe not on Me."

1. Every Church Growth or Missional program is another basket of weed seed sown.
2. Every step toward women's ordination is another way to identify with the unbelievers of the feminist covens.
3. Every political scheme is laying out the battleground in a way ideally suited for Satan and his helpers to win. 

 No more programs!

Herman Otten Criticizes Paul McCain in January 21, 2019 Christian News. Otten Put McCain in the Purple Palace by Working with Paul Secretly and Lying

Herman Otten told me how Paul McCain, in his first and only parish, sent DP Al Barry's newsletter early to Christian News to publish and make a conservative hero out Barry. Both of them denied colluding, and Otten denied this in print.

McCain invited me to a personal tour of the Purple Palace. The phone rang and it was Otten's number. McCain did not answer it. He said, "If they knew I was talking to Otten, I would be fired."

So Otten got McCain into the Purple Palace and kept him there by denying their game after their plot succeeded. When Barry died, McCain sought grace and favor at the Shrine of the Immaculate Migration (Concordia Historical Institute) and next at Concordia Publishing House. He also had a much-praised (by McCain) blog, which was exposed later as plagiarized from Roman Catholic sources and his friends' blogs. McCain never apologized for his blog's dishonesty, but insists everyone has to apologize for offending him.

LutherQuest (sic) finally realized they were publishing McCain's links to plagiarized hagiographies from The Catholic Encyclopedia. They did not apologize to their readers or explain how easily they were fooled.

When Matt Harrison won the SP election in 2010, who showed up for a triumphant photo tour? Paul McCain.

 When Barry replaced Bohlmann, Bucky Hellwig said,
"At least Bohlmann's administration was polite to us." Was he suggesting that McCain was earning his nickname in Missouri - McNasty?

 Notice how papal Matt the Fatt is - "the official teachings of the Lutheran Church." That is a Roman view of dogma - why they cannot be wrong. The Book of Concord does not teach denominations but Biblical truths. 

 Buchholz is another inflated ego in a dying sect.
"How can you, little man, depart from the sacred truths of  our synod fathers? For that we extend - in Christian love - the Left Foot of Fellowship."

Why Oh Why Do They Need To Discuss Something Beaten To Death? Their UOJ Dogma? Sounds Ominous!

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

"Another meeting planned for December 2019. At this meeting, the group will discuss the doctrine of justification." 

https://wels.net/leaders-els-lcms-wels-meet/

"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.

---

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\

Sassy's Charming Presence - Cyber-Pet and Neighborhood Pet

 Sassy is completely in love with the four Esses, each daughter's name beginning with S. Each one has fussed over Sassy, and she loves it. Scared of her? - they own pit bulls.

I promised two readers they would hear from their CyberPet again soon: Sassy the Wonder Dog. Recently, Sassy saw her friends getting out of the van. She ran over and sat down in front of the youngest, grinning. That means, "You will pet me and talk to me." Sophie obliged, as the brother and sister did when walking to school. Sassy simply blocked the sidewalk by sitting in front of them, knowing they would stop and pet her.

Three legs? She was the star of the dog park. The other dogs were jealous of the magic orange ball that made everyone applaud her.

Yesterday, we passed Pat and John's home on our walk. John called from his door, "Sassy...." His wife came to share the love, too. Sassy is expected to kiss their hands each time, and she does.

On the way back we saw the morning coffee couple. She is known for putting her car in park, jumping out to see Sassy. We see them every morning in warm weather. Next the painter stopped his car on the street and talked to us. One day, his children and nephew brought us five paint cans (five gallon, empty and clean) for gardening.

If Ranger Bob is around, there is a big round of yelping, barking, and moaning. She adores him and his brother Mike. Bob calls her ChowHound, and adds, "I love that dawg. I am not a dawg person but I love that dawg. Whenever you get tired of her..." We gave him a large print of her smiling face. He loves it.

When Bob knocks on the door, he asks, "Got any of that good coffee left?" I make a pot of pour-over coffee while we talk about battleships, fixing cars, and dealing with taxes. I work on his taxes and get beautiful used books about the Navy for $1 used. One was in demand so it was more, so that was his chosen Christmas present. Paperwork flummoxes him the way car repairs stymie me, so we specialize. Sassy begins by barking and carrying on with him, demanding treats, and finally lying down to listen to him talk. If we watch car repair videos in our spare room, she lies down to listen.

 Sassy wore the Maroons' M for the river walk, which added up to two people and a dog. Our reunions are less organized than a London soccer riot.

We have taken Sassy to several Moline reunions. We are the luckiest people in the world to have her, but people thank us for rescuing her. She has routines and games that manage us, whether we think about it or not. Yesterday, she put her paw in the air, pretending to claw the table. Of course, she fixed her eyes on me. She looks like a student in the classroom when she does that, except she often adds her devilish smile. She knows I will laugh and respond. Then she grins at my reaction.

 When MHS 66 ladies and Christina had lunch at a Moline reunion, Sassy and I provided a security perimeter. Notice how she is barking her happiness. If she could not bark her joyfulness, she would explode.

Sassy generates happiness wherever she goes - post office, meat market, walks, trips. If I happen to pass through McDonalds without her, they ask about Sassy, who gets a little ice cream each time.

The Frosty Paws routine each night is elaborate:

1. Restless murmuring, sometimes hurt looks.
2. "Is Sassy looking for something?"
3. "Maybe, Frosty Paws?"
4. Her responses vary from slapping the blanket with a grin to sorrowful barks about being forgotten.
5. "Love first, then Frosty Paws."
6. She stays in place.
7. "Come on up here. Do I have to YANK you?"
8. She feigns terror and clutches the mattress.
9. I reach out and tug her a bit. Eyes widen.
10. Then I clap. "Move. Move. Or no treat."
11. She gets up and moves two inches, collapsing down.
12. "Are you kidding me? Move up!"
13. She moves up just enough to be petted, grinning.
14. After hearing how much everyone loves her, she gets one teaspoon of vanilla ice cream.

 The drive through tellers loved her so much, they gave her extra treats for barking loudly into the mike. That woke up everyone inside. The branch moved away - too much overhead?

First Draft of Mirthless Mark Schroeder's Presidential Address - Accidentally Sent to the Comments Section of This Blog

Conference of Presidents 2019 Winter Meeting at a Caribbean Resort - Funded by Thrivent - first draft, do not publish

2019/01/15/in Together

The Conference of Presidents held its winter meeting last week at a Caribbean Resort while you froze and dug yourselves out of winter storms. Topics for discussion and decisions made include:

• The COP will work with the Commission on Congregational Counseling to develop guidelines for all the congregations that are beginning the process of closing or merging, which is just like closing, but sounds better. Guidelines will be made available upon request from the district president. Be sure not to blame the Church Growth Movement we hold so dear.
• The COP is developing a tool to assist congregations that are exploring alternative approaches to congregational structure and polity. Some are thinking about TLH hymnals, Means of Grace liturgies, and banning clowns & snacks. We frown on such radical approaches.
• The COP expressed support for the plans of Congregational Services to offer two programs to replace Mission and Ministry Sunday in fall 2019. One program, the 10 for 10 stewardship program, will offer a ten-week emphasis on whole life insurance Christian stewardship, naming WELS as the sole beneficiary. The work we avoid together as a synod will be highlighted as one part of the program. The other, the Welcome Home initiative featuring a “Welcome Home Sunday” on Oct. 27, will help congregations to seek to regain those who have strayed from active congregational membership, so we will be pleasant and friendly for once, even if they are related to synod leaders born in Wisconsin.
• The COP expressed support for a WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership being planned by Congregational Services for Jan. 21-23, 2020, in Chicago, Ill. The conference will emphasize leadership that is rooted in the beliefs of Fuller, Willow Creek, and Trinity Divinity School.
• The COP discussed the importance of encouraging congregations in their efforts to increase Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO). The continuation of vital synodical ministries depends on increasing CMO support from our congregations.
• The COP has begun an effort to review the synod’s bylaws dealing with discipline of called workers and congregations, as well as the appeals process. The COP will complete its work in time for a new study of the revised process and bylaws to be reviewed by the future district conventions.
• The COP Doctrine Committee will schedule regular meetings with the Doctrine Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and with the faculty of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.
• The COP expressed support for plans to form an Institute of Lutheran Apologetics (apologizing to victims who threaten lawsuits against us, to save money on court and legal costs).
• The COP reviewed the pastoral vacancies and noted that the overall vacancy rate has remained about the same since its last meeting. Seminary classes are shrinking, and so are well - it is a perfect fit.
• The COP has received questions about whether the housing/furnishings deduction allowed by the IRS to members of the clergy (Tax Code Section 107) can be made available to female teachers. Since the entire matter addressed by Section 107 is currently being challenged in federal court, the COP determined to wait until the legal matter is settled before exploring the matter further. All our female MLC graduates are ministers, so take comfort in the future tax breaks.
• The COP expressed its support for an effort by Congregational Services to assemble a “Rural Ministry Task Force” that will provide ministry resources for rural and small-town congregations as they dwindle away.
• The COP approved changing the calling window for teachers. Beginning in the fall of 2019, the time in which teachers can be called will be from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April.

Serving in Christ,
President Mark Schroeder

All our female graduates are ministers too, so stay tuned and enjoy the tax breaks. We are cutting edge - even ELCA admires us.

Note the Insidious Form of Attack on the Chief Article - Still Being Used by the UOJ Salesmen

Jungkuntz taught at the WELS college, got caught in false doctrine,went to Missouri, and ended in The ALC. As Seminex board chairman, he had the portable school become the official seminary for the gay Metropolitan Community Church.

This is a major point in the Robert Preus Objective Justification essay below. Dr. Walter A. Maier II is not charged with teaching Justification by Faith, but with denying - yes denying Objective Justification.

There is a brief passage about OJ/General Justification protecting and keeping JFB pure. This glib claim from Stoeckhardt is blasphemous, because the Word of God does not need to be "protected and kept pure" by man-made dogma. That is like saying the Immaculate Conception of Mary and her Assumption are doctrines that keep pure the Virgin Birth and divinity of Christ. I chose that wording for a reason, because Edward Preuss anonymously supported - as a Roman Catholic - the Marian dogmas that he criticized as a Missouri seminary professor.

Here is what George Stoekhardt, perhaps the greatest of all Lutheran biblical expositors in our country, says, "Genuine Lutheran theology counts the doctrine of general (objective) justification among the statements and treasures of its faith. Lutherans teach and confess that through Christ’s death the entire world of sinners was justified and that through Christ’s resurrection the justification of the sinful world was festively proclaimed. This doctrine of general justification is the guarantee and warranty that the central article of justification by faith is being kept pure."  

(Stoeckhardt, in the Preus essay, quoted in the post below)

Edward Preuss was not "an old Lutheran theologian of our church." He was a turncoat, who became a Roman Catholic after seeing a brilliant sunset, which he took to be a sign from God. If he were such a great theologian, his Biblical scholarship would have strengthened against Rome. As far as proving or disproving Marian dogmas, Edward Preuss said, "Give me the sources and I can prove anything." And yet his confused essay on Justification is considered a classic by the UOJ Stormtroopers.

Edward Preuss' evil essay also has had an impact in the UOJ, because "the Justification of the sinner" - the title of his essay - has become a favorite deceptive phrase of the cult. They really mean "the forgiveness of all sinners - without faith" but that does not run trippingly off the tongue.

Edward Preuss blended Justification by Faith into his essay, as Robert Preus and Missouri did in their 1987 Theses in dishonor of the Reformation. If I hold two treats in my hands, our dog Sassy's eyes go back and forth, distracted by two objects at once. Magic acts work the same way - "Watch my right hand while I pull an object out with my left hand." No Lutheran should be shocked that their professors make a fine living doing the same magic trick.

Robert Preus' last book provided some excellent refutations of Objective Justification. Two are posted below.

Quoted by Robert Preus, Justification and Rome.

 Quoted by Robert Preus, Justification and Rome.

Pastor Herman Otten - While You Are Both Alive - Will You Apologize to Dr. Walter A. Maier II? Maier and His Father Were Correct about Justification by Faith. You and the Preus Brothers Were Wrong!

Jack Preus became LCMS Synod President by working with Pastor Herman Otten, who took sides against Dr. Walter A. Maier II in the Jack and Robert Preus beat-down of WAM II. Herman - this is your chance to apologize and show your praise of his father was not just empty flattery.

I scanned this from Christian News. Note that Walter A. Maier (PhD, Harvard, Semitics) named Justification by Faith as the keystone of Protestantism. But the Preus brothers and their children have promoted Halle Pietism's Objective Justification and treated WAM II as a pariah, a heretic, and a false teacher.

WAM II is pictured here with a few of his many relatives.

 $2.96 used.

Cascione, as always, misinterpreted what I wrote, when I said Robert Preus changed from OJ to Justification by Faith.

Dr. Robert Preus and Justification: 


Dr. Robert Preus on Justification
By Rev. Jack Cascione



Dr. Greg Jackson has repeatedly stated on Luther Quest that Dr. Robert Preus was not in agreement with Objective Justification. I served as the PR Director for Fort Wayne from 1978-1981. “Missouri In Perspective” the ELIM paper, criticized the LC-MS position on Objective Justification. As editor for the Concordia Theological Seminary - Fort Wayne “News Letters” I asked Dr. Preus to respond in the Spring 1981 Issue. The following is his reply, plus other relative excerpts.

CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

NEWSLETTER – Spring 1981
6600 North Clinton
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46825

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – "OBJECTIVE JUSTIFICATION"

The doctrine of objective justification is a lovely teaching drawn from Scripture which tells us that God who has loved us so much that He gave His only to be our Savior has for the sake of Christ’s substitutionary atonement declared the entire world of sinners for whom Christ died to be righteous (Romans 5:17-19).

Objective justification which is God’s verdict of acquittal over the whole world is not identical with the atonement, it is not another way of expressing the fact that Christ has redeemed the world. Rather it is based upon the substitutionary work of Christ, or better, it is a part of the atonement itself. It is God’s response to all that Christ died to save us, God’s verdict that Christ’s work is finished, that He has been indeed reconciled, propitiated; His anger has been stilled and He is at peace with the world, and therefore He has declared the entire world in Christ to be righteous.

THE SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT

According to all of Scripture Christ made a full atonement for the sins of all mankind. Atonement (at-one-ment) means reconciliation. If God was not reconciled by the saving work of Christ, if His wrath against sin was not appeased by Christ'’ sacrifice, if God did not respond to the perfect obedience and suffering and death of His Son for the sins of the world by forgiveness, by declaring the sinful world to be righteous in Christ -–if all this were not so, if something remains to be done by us or through us or in us, then there is no finished atonement. But Christ said, "It is finished." And God raised Him from the dead and justified Him, pronounced Him, the sin bearer, righteous (I Timothy 3:16) and thus in Him pronounced the entire world of sinners righteous (Romans 4:25).

All this is put beautifully by an old Lutheran theologian of our church, "We are redeemed from the guilt of sin; the wrath of God is appeased; all creation is again under the bright rays of mercy, as in the beginning; yea, in Christ we were justified before we were even born. For do not the Scriptures say: ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them?'’ This is not the justification which we receive by faith...That is the great absolution which took place in the resurrection of Christ. It was the Father, for our sake, who condemned His dear Son as the greatest of all sinners causing Him to suffer the greatest punishment of the transgressors, even so did He publicly absolve Him from the sins of the world when He raised Him up from the dead." (Edward Preuss, "The Justification of a Sinner Before God," pp. 14-15) GJ - Edward Preuss left the Lutheran Church to become a prominent Roman Catholic scholar. Robert was gilding the skunk cabbage, I think.

OBJECTIVE JUSTIFICATION AND JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

The doctrine of objective justification does not imply that there is no hell, that God’s threats throughout Scripture to punish sins are empty, or that all unbelievers will not be condemned to eternal death on the day of Christ’s second coming. And very definitely the doctrine of objective, or general, justification does not threaten the doctrine of justification through faith in Christ. Rather it is the very basis of that Reformation doctrine, a part of it. For it is the very pardon which God has declared over the whole world of sinners that the individual sinner embraces in faith and thus is justified personally. Christ’s atonement, His propitiation of God and God’s forgiveness are the true and only object of faith. Here is what George Stoekhardt, perhaps the greatest of all Lutheran biblical expositors in our country, says, "Genuine Lutheran theology counts the doctrine of general (objective) justification among the statements and treasures of its faith. Lutherans teach and confess that through Christ’s death the entire world of sinners was justified and that through Christ’s resurrection the justification of the sinful world was festively proclaimed. 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."

THE REALITY OF OBJECTIVE JUSTIFICATION

Objective justification is not a mere metaphor, a figurative way of expressing the fact that Christ died for all and paid for the sins of all. Objective justification has happened, it is the actual acquittal of the entire world of sinners for Christ’s sake. Neither does the doctrine of objective justification refer to the mere possibility of the individual’s justification through faith, to a mere potentiality which faith completes when one believes in Christ. Justification is no more a mere potentiality or possibility than Christ’s atonement. The doctrine of objective justification points to the real justification of all sinners for the sake of Christ’s atoning work "before" we come to faith in Christ. Nor is objective justification "merely" a "Lutheran term" to denote that justification is available to all as a recent "Lutheran Witness" article puts it – although it is certainly true that forgiveness is available to all. Nor is objective justification a Missouri Synod construct, a "theologoumenon" (a theological peculiarity), devised cleverly to ward off synergism (that man cooperates in his conversion) and Calvinistic double predestination, as Dr. Robert Schultz puts it in "Missouri in Perspective" (February 23, 1981, p. 5) – although the doctrine does indeed serve to stave off these two aberrations. No, objective justification is a clear teaching of Scripture, it is an article of faith which no Lutheran has any right to deny or pervert any more than the article of the Trinity or of the vicarious atonement.

THE CENTRAILITY AND COMFORT OF THE DOCTRINE

Objective justification is not a peripheral article of faith which one may choose to ignore because of more important things. It is the very central article of the Gospel which we preach. Listen to Dr. C. F. W. Walther, the first president and great leader of our synod, speak about this glorious doctrine in one of his magnificent Easter sermons: "When Christ suffered and died, He was judged by God, and He was condemned to death in our place. But when God in the resurrection awakened Him again, who was it then that was acquitted by God in Christ’s person? Christ did no need acquittal for Himself, for no one can accuse Him of single sin. Who therefore was it that was justified in Him? Who was declared pure and innocent in Him? We were, we humans. It was the whole world. When God spoke to Christ, ‘You shall live,’ that applied to us. His life is our life. His acquittal, our acquittal, His justification, our justification….Who can ever fully express the great comfort which lies in Christ’s resurrection? It is God’s own absolution spoken to all men, to all sinners, in a word, to all the world, and sealed in the most glorious way. There the eternal love of God is revealed in all its riches, in its overflowing fullness and in its highest brilliance. For there we hear that it was not enough for God simply to send His own Son into the world and let Him become a man for us, not enough even for Him to give and offer His only Son unto death for us. No, when His Son had accomplished all that He had to do and suffer in order to earn and acquire grace and life and blessedness for us, then God, in His burning love to speak to us sinners, could not wait until we would come to Him and request His grace in Christ, but no sooner had His Son fulfilled everything than He immediately hastened to confer to men the grace which had been acquired through the resurrection of His Son, to declare openly, really and solemnly to all men that they were acquitted of all their sins, and to declare before heaven and earth that they are redeemed, reconciled, pure, innocent and righteous in Christ."

THE ISSUE AT OUR SEMINARY

Many of our readers know that our seminary, and one professor in particular, has been recently criticized for undermining this comforting and clear teaching of objective justification. The criticism and garbled accounts of the situation have become so widespread lately that I must now comment on the matter in this issue of the "Newsletter.

For over 15 years now Professor Walter A. Maier, Jr., has been teaching a course in the book of Romans, and, although he states he has always presented the doctrine of objective justification as taught in our synod (e.g. in the "Brief Statement"), he has taught in class that some of the key passages used in our church to support the doctrine actually do not speak to the subject at all. As a result some within the seminary community and some outside concluded that Dr. Maier did not in fact believe, teach, and confess the article of objective justification. A few – very few – complaints were brought against Dr. Maier and against the seminary for letting this go on.

The president of our synod, who has the responsibility for supervising doctrine in the synod, contacted me and asked me to try to settle the issue and to persuade Dr. Maier to teach an interpretation of the pertinent passages (Romans 4:25; Romans 5:16-19; II Corinthians 5:19) compatible with that which the great teachers of our church in the past (C. F. W. Walther, Francis Pieper, Theodore Engelder, George Stoeckhardt, Martin Franzmann, William Beck and others) publicly taught. Meetings and discussions immediately took place between Dr. Maier and myself. Later on the matter was considered in faculty meetings, in department meetings, and in special committees appointed to discuss and hopefully to settle the issue. During these meetings, which were always most cordial, Dr. Maier has remained unpersuaded that his interpretation of the pertinent passages is faulty. At the same time he has consistently assured all that he has always taught the doctrine of objective justification as understood in the Missouri Synod. He has, however, referred to other biblical evidence for the doctrine.

In the meantime the president of the synod, growing anxious for a clear solution to the problem wrote to the entire church body a letter cautioning congregations not to nominate Dr. Maier for president of the synod until the issue was cleared up to his satisfaction.

Now the issue became political, and protests and criticisms against the president of the synod for his action and also against Dr. Maier'’ teaching began to multiply all over the synod. People naturally began to take sides, not always so much on the doctrinal issue which was not always understood and is still being discussed at our seminary, but for ecclesiastical and personal reasons. We now know that the warning of our synodical president against Dr. Maier not only failed to dissuade congregations from nominating Dr. Maier for the presidency of our synod (as Fourth Vice-President Dr. Robert Sauer had forewarned when attempting to persuade the synodical president not to send his letter), but possibly gained more nominations for Dr. Maier. Dr. Maier is now one of the five men nominated for the presidency of our synod.

On January 30, 1981, the Board of Control met with Dr. Maier and three representatives of the synodical praesidium (which had severely criticized Dr. Maier’s doctrinal stance). We heard from two members of the praesidium and then from Dr. Maier and two faculty members who he had requested to accompany him. The results of this meeting, many of us believed, represented a real breakthrough in understanding, and the Board exonerated Dr. Maier of any false doctrine. It was my belief that the representatives of the praesidium present were also satisfied and happy with the report. In the discussions of this meeting Dr. Maier expressed many genuine concerns related to the doctrine of objective justification, e.g., that no one is saved eternally who is not justified by faith, that God is even now angry with those who reject Christ and do not repent, and that objective justification ought to be preached and taught in such a way that the biblical doctrine of justification by faith is always prominent. The report, in the form of a news release, is found on page 4 of the "Newsletter", and I urge the reader to read it because "The Reporter," "The Lutheran Witness," and most of the newspapers over the country which reported on the matter did not reproduce the report in its entirety. At the same meeting the Board of Control strongly expressed its disapproval of some of the actions of our synodical president in the matter.

Meanwhile the administration of the seminary, with the concurrence of the Board of Control, determined that it would be best for the seminary and for Dr. Maier if he not teach the course in Romans during the next academic year. At first I tried to keep this matter private, but later I decided to make a public report of the fact. My reason for this was threefold. First, Dr. Maier was reported in the news media all over the country as stating that he had not changed his position on the doctrine of objective justification, suggesting o many that three years of discussions with him had been quite fruitless and that he still did not wholeheartedly believe in objective justification. Second, several people sympathetic to Dr. Maier had threatened to withhold funds from the seminary and had even reported our action to the accrediting association of our seminary, "The Association of Theological Schools;" it was obvious to me that they would make the matter of Dr. Maier’s courses public whenever it served their purposes. Third, the president of the synod was preparing a release revealing the fact that Dr. Maier would not be teaching Romans during the next academic year. I thought it would be preferable that the president of the seminary make this fact known rather than those who have no business making such and announcement and who might make the announcement in a way detrimental either Dr. Maier or the seminary.

This is where the matter now stands. The Board of Control has stated its confidence in the doctrine of Dr. Maier. Dr. Maier is presently teaching Romans, will teach the course this summer, but is slated to teach courses other than Romans next year. The faculty will continue to discuss and try to achieve total agreement in the interpretation of those passages of Scripture which teach objective justification.

A PLEA FOR CONCERN AND UNDERSTANDING

Through this entire and uncomfortable time the Board of Control and the administration of the seminary have found themselves in an understandably awkward position. We are pledged to remain faithful to the doctrinal position of our church, a position which we believe with all our hearts, and we will not deviate from this obligation one iota. We are at the same time pledged to defend a professor and colleague if he fails under unjust attack or abuse. I think we were able to maintain this delicate balance while the present issue was pending, until the political issue was injected. Now we find ourselves uncomfortably between two rather large conflicting elements in our synod, both friends of our seminary; those who believe that the president of the synod, whether they agree with his actions or not, had legitimate concerns about the doctrinal position of Dr. Maier, and those who believe that Dr. Maier had been wronged by the president of the synod and that the seminary could have done more to defend and protect him. How can we respond to this divisive situation in the middle of which we find ourselves? We can only say that we regret deeply the anxiety and consternation which good friends of our seminary have experienced because of the episodes I have recounted. May I ask these friends to bear with us and put the best construction on how we have acted in these circumstances. If you question Dr. Maier’s teaching on justification, please read and believe the report on page and trust the honesty and sincerity of those, including Dr. Maier, who had a part in releasing it. If you believe that Dr. Maier has been wronged by various parties during the last three year which have been trying to him, please believe that our Board of Control and all here at Concordia agree with you; but God, who saved this lost world and forgave the sins of mankind before anyone ever asked Him, commands us also to forgive those who wrong us. And please do not try to defend Dr. Maier by denying the public teaching of the Lutheran Church. God’s forgiveness shines bright and clear above all the pettiness and weakness and wrongs and controversy that have transpired in connection with our dear colleague Dr. Maier, and it WILL cover the sins of us all. Lent teach us this, and Easter confirms it.

ROBERT PREUS, President

For those who wish to read more on Objective Justification the following articles can be secured from our bookstore for a nominal charge:

H. J. Bouman _Conference Paper on Romans 4:5" "Concordia Theological Monthly" (CTM), Vol. 18, 1947, pp. 338-347.

Theodore Engelder, "Objective Justification," CTM, Vol. 4, 1933, pp. 507-516, 564-577, 664, 675.

Theodore Engelder, "Walther, a Christian Theologian," CTM, Vol. 7, 1936, pp. 801-815.

Martin H. Franzmann, "Reconciliation and Justification," CTM, Vol. 21, 1950, pp. 81-93.

E. W. A. Koehler, "Objective Justification, CTM, Vol. 16, 1945, pp. 217-235.

Miscellanea, "God Purposes to Justify Those That Have Come to Faith," CTM, Vol. 14, 1943, pp. 787-791.

George Stoeckhardt, "General Justification," "Concordia Theological Quarterly," April, 1978, pp. 139 – 144.

STATEMENT ADDED TO PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

While the president’s message "Objective Justification" was being typeset, an "Official Notice" from the president of Synod was issued which bears on the Walter A. Maier matter. In the notice the president of Synod expressed his disagreement with our Board action which announced a "basic understanding" with Dr. Maier on objective justification. I felt compelled to respond on behalf of our Board of Control with an Official Notice from the Seminary. This Official Notice which seeks to clarify the Board’s action and position vis-à-vis Dr. Maier’s doctrinal stand has been submitted to "The Reporter." It is herewith appended to the present article for our readers’ information. – Robert Preus

BOARD OF CONTROL MEETS WITH SEMINARY PROFESSOR

The Board of Control of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, has announced that a basic understanding resulted from a lengthy and thorough discussion on January 30th, between the Board, Dr. Walter A. Maier, Jr., of the seminary faculty, three representatives for the president and vice-presidents (praesidium) of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, and two additional faculty members. In a January 5-6 meeting the Praesidium stated that, in its opinion, "Doctor Walter A. Maier, Jr., holds a position different from that of the official doctrinal position of the Synod."

At the January 30 meeting, however, Dr. Maier emphatically affirmed his belief that on the basis of Christ’s vicarious atonement God has put His wrath away against the world and has declared the whole world to be righteous; that the benefits of this objective forgiveness are appropriated only by faith; the even though the entire human race has been redeemed, the Law in all its severity, including the wrath of God against sinners as well as the Gospel of forgiveness must be preached to all, including Christians. According to the Gospel, God is indeed reconciled; according to the Law, the wrath of God abides on all who reject Christ and His work of reconciliation, refuse to repent, and live in their sins.

Dr. Robert Sauer, Dr. George Wollenburg, and former synodical vice-president Dr. Theodore Nickel represented the praesidium at the January 30 meeting. Professors Kurt Marquart and Howard Tepker of the seminary faculty were also present.

The frank five-hour exchange focused on several theological issues which were isolated for clarification. The discussion showed that there have been misunderstandings, unclear thinking, and poor communication because of overstatements, lifting of phrases and snippets of doctrinal expression out of context, and sometimes even pressing of casual expressions to ultimate conclusions not intended by the speakers.

More than semantic differences surfaced early in the January 30th meeting. At the close, however, basic agreement emerged on such topics as the wrath of God, Law and Gospel, and "objective justification" – a term used in the Lutheran Church to summarize a concept in the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions that forgiveness and justification because of the death of Christ are objectively available for all mankind through the ages, whether or not individuals appropriate it through faith.

Difference in the interpretation of several critical passages remain. The Seminary board, as well as Dr. Maier, is concerned that variant interpretations can lead to a misinterpretation of doctrine. Therefore, the Seminary board reported, discussions will continue by the faculty.

Dr. Maier stated: "I regret that some publicly quoted statements of mine from a technical paper ‘prepared for faculty discussion purposes only’ have given a wrong impression about my doctrine of justification as a whole. I, therefore, withdraw that paper from discussion. Doctrinally, I stand with our Synod’s historic position."

In his statement to the Board of Control Dr. Maier further stated: "When the Lord Jesus was ‘justified’ (I Timothy 3:16) in His resurrection and exaltation, God acquitted Him not of sins of His own, but of all the sins of mankind, which as the Lamb of God He had been bearing (John 1:29(, and by the imputation of which He had been ‘made….to be sin for us’ (II Corinthians 5:21), indeed, ‘made a curse for us’" (Galatians 3:13).

"In this sense, the justification of Jesus was the justification of those whose sins He bore. The treasure of justification or forgiveness gained by Christ for all mankind is truly offered, given, and distributed in and through the Gospel and sacraments of Christ."

"Faith alone can receive this treasure offered in the Gospel, and this faith itself is entirely a gracious gift and creation of God through the means of grace. Faith adds nothing to God’s forgiveness in Christ offered in the Gospel, but only receives it. Thus, ‘He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and He that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on Him’" (John 3:30).

"My reservation concerning some of the traditional terminology employed in expressing the doctrine of justification are fully covered by the following statements from the major essay delivered to the first convention of the Synodical Conference, assembled in Milwaukee July 10-16, 1872:

"When speaking with regard to the acquisition of salvation (by Christ), God has wrath for no man any longer; but when speaking with regard to the appropriation, He is wrathful with everyone who is no in Christ ("Proceedings," p. 32). Before faith the sinner is righteous before God only according to the acquisition and the divine intention, but he is actually ("actu") righteous, righteous for his own person, righteous indeed, first when he believes ("Proceedings," p. 68."

Following the meeting Board Chairman Raymond N. Joeckel commented, "We only wish that we could have reached this stage of the discussions and that we could have had this kind of interchange before unfortunate statements appeared in the public press. The church can learn from this that the Lord blesses sincere efforts to discuss and clarify the meaning and message of the Holy Scriptures."

COMMENT ON AN OFFICIAL NOTICE

The Official Notice of our synodical president regarding Dr. Walter A. Maier and the doctrine of objective justification in the March 30 issue of "The Lutheran Witness Reporter" requires an answer by me as president and executive officer of the Board of Control of Concordia Theological Seminary where Dr. Maier teaches.

Once again we wish to express our deep appreciation to the president for his recognition of the central importance of the doctrine of objective justification and his concern that this comforting teaching be taught clearly at our school. We agree wholeheartedly with his citation from Dr. Francis Pieper, ""he doctrine of objective justification is of vital important to the entire Christian doctrine. Only by keeping this doctrine intact will the Christian doctrine remain intact. It will be irretrievably lost if this doctrine is abandoned."

However, there are some serious inaccuracies and mistaken judgments in the Official Notice which call for correction and comment.

First, the president of the Synod points to an apparent conflict between my summary of the issues on the subject of justification sent to the Board of Control December 23, 1980, and some later statements made by me and the Board of Control concerning Dr. Maier’s position. In the December statement I described Dr. Maier’s position as he expressed it to the Board at its November, 1980 meeting (with the president of Synod in attendance). There I state that Dr. Maier can find no explicit Biblical evidence for the doctrine of objective justification and no explicit Biblical evidence for the doctrine that God was reconciled (put His anger aside) on account of the ransom paid by Christ. Two months later I stated that Dr. Maier "has always believed" – it would have been better to have said "has consistently affirmed to the Board and to me his belief" – in objective justification; and the Board in its release said that Dr. Maier emphatically affirmed his believe that on the basis of Christs’s vicarious atonement God put His wrath away against the world and has declared the whole world to be righteous." The explanation for this apparent discrepancy lies in the simple fact that in the January meeting of the Board of Control (which the president of Synod did not attend) Dr. Maier clearly affirmed that Scripture does in fact teach the doctrine of objective justification and that on the basis of Christ’s atonement God put away His wrath, whereas in the November meeting, as reported, he did not do so. An so "all" the statements cited are true and factual

Our synodical president says "I must report that the vice-presidents are of the opinion that there is no evidence from the Board of Control meeting which would change their judgment that Dr. Maier is at variance with the doctrinal position of the Synod." This must be a mistake. Former Vice-President Theodore Nickel and Vice-President George Wollenburg, together with Vice-president Robert Sauer, represented the Praesidium at the January Board meeting. Dr. Nickel and Dr. Wollenburg criticized Dr. Maier’s position at the meeting. But when Dr. Maier affirmed his belief that objective justification was taught in Scripture (I Timothy 3:16) and that God’s wrath has been appeased through the death of His Son, the Board gained the distinct impression that both Dr. Nickel and Dr. Wollenburg were sufficiently satisfied that Dr. Maier was not at variance with the doctrinal position of the Synod. At least, these two men never expressed themselves to the contrary to the Board or to Dr. Maier. The Board report of the January 30 meeting with Dr. Maier and representatives of the Praesidium has been out since February 2, and so Dr. Wollenburg and Dr. Nickel have had plenty of time to dissociate themselves from it, if they wanted to do so. It does seem strange to us that the president of the Synod did not announce his misgivings soon after the Board meeting and news release, but rather waited until after Dr. Maier has been clearly nominated for the presidency of the Missouri Synod.

Furthermore, Vice-President Sauer is a member of the Board of Control and had a hand in writing and issuing the Board release of February 2. According to the February 14 St. Louis Globe Democrat Dr. Sauer said, "’After a recent discussion lasting several hours,’ Dr. Maier ‘appears to be in a position of changing with regard to the vital doctrinal matter.’" So the president of our Synod apparently is not including Dr. Sauer when he said, "I must report that the vice-presidents are of the opinion that there is no evidence from the Board of Control meeting which would change the judgment that Dr. Maier is at variance with the doctrinal position of the Synod." Perhaps there are other vice-presidents he is not including.

The suggestion of our synodical president that the Board of Control is engaging in a cover up in regard to Dr. Maier is unkind and false. The Board has acted with utmost integrity. While the president may differ with the Board’s conclusion and decision in the Maier matter, it is not right of him publicly to question the ethics and posture of the Board in the entire matter.

The president’s only evidence for a cover up is the fact that the Board did not publicly announce that Dr. Maier would not be teaching a course in the Book of Romans beginning with the next academic year. This was not considered significant for the news release. At the same meeting the Board also objected "strenuously" to "certain things" done by the president of the Synod "which are high-handed, inexcusable, and harmful to Dr. Maier or our school." The Board did not think of including such items in its release either, and that out of love and concern for the reputation of our synodical president. The omission of pertinent or irrelevant facts in a release does not necessarily constitute a "cover up." If it did, the president of the Synod would be guilty of a serious "cover up." In his Official Notice he omitted any mention of a verbatim quotation from Dr. Maier in the Board release, affirming that Scripture does indeed teach objective justification. Dr. Maier’s statement goes as follows, "When the Lord Jesus was ‘justified’ (I Timothy 3:16) in His resurrection and exaltation, God acquitted Him not of sins of His own, but of all the sins of mankind, which as the Lamb of God He had been bearing (John 1:29), and by the imputation of which He had been ‘made…..to be sin for us’ (II Corinthians 5:21), indeed ‘made a curse for us’ (Galations (sic) 3:13). In this sense the justification of Jesus was the justification of those whose sins He bore. The treasure of justification or forgiveness gained by Christ for all mankind is truly offered, given, and distributed in and through the Gospel and Sacraments of Christ." It was on the basis of this statement and other assurances given by Dr. Maier that the Board announced in its February 2 release that a "basic understand resulted from a lengthy and thorough discussion on January 30 between the Board, Dr. Walter A. Maier, Jr. of the seminary faculty, three representatives for the president and vice-presidents (Praesidium) of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, and two additional faculty members."

We share our synodical president’s "frustration and amazement" at the confusion which shrouds both the issue itself and the way it has been handled. I know I speak for Dr. Maier and the Board of Control when I say that we all are sorry for anything we have said or done which adds to this confusion. I am sure that the president of the Synod too is sorry for what he has contributed to the confusion and misunderstanding which surrounds the matter. It is my hope that this response to his Official Notice will serve to clarify the matter.

Rolf Preus Says I Am Not Allowed To Quote His Father's Book, Which Lists Rolf as an Editor. Funny Thing - Rolf Never Mentioned His Father's Book in His Recent N.D. Lectures.