The Crafts and Assaults of the Objective Justification Cheerleaders - Against the Gospel Jesus Taught - Faith in Him

 "I try my best.
Bringing in the sheaves.
Bringing in the sheaves.
We shall come rejoicing, bringing them in to burn."

Objective Justification Cheerleaders (aka Justification by Faith deniers) say these things:

1. "Our church has always taught Objective Justification."

That is demonstrably false in ELCA, WELS, and the LCMS. They began with Justification by Faith. Thanks to a scholar, The Path To Understanding Justification has documented the early JBF statements of the LCMS and the turn to OJ. The ELS began with an OJ chip on their stooped shoulders.

1a. "You have turned against the teaching of your Synod."

The Gausewitz Catechism was used for decades in the Synodical Conference, where he was president. That work by a WELS leader taught Justification by Faith, so ever since - WELS-LCMS leadership has been comprised of men who turned against their own synod, the Book of Concord, and the Scriptures - in ascending order. The OJists turned against the teaching of their synods.

2. "You are a Pietist!"

OJ comes directly from late, rationalistic Pietism. The terms OJ and SJ were used by the Calvinist translator of the Pietist Knapp.

3. "You are a Calvinist!"

Tell me, O Hamlet of Dogmatics, where is one born already forgiven, absent the Word, lacking the Means of Grace? Yes, Calvin taught that God predestined everyone. That even sounds like Walther's Election without Faith.

4. "You are an Arminian!"

Calvin used that term for everyone who disagreed with him. David Scaer likes to toss it around to insult the Walter A. Maier family, whose publications make his look like that of an earnest first-year seminary student.

For the Preus brothers, this was not a minor issue. Jack Preus was not the only one to look into the issue. Ralph Bohlmann also did. The inability of the Missouri Synod once and for all to bring this matter to a conclusion may partially lie in that the Missouri Synod had long been “Protestantized” in an Arminian direction.
Scaer, David P.. Surviving the Storms: Memoirs of David P. Scaer. Luther Academy. Kindle Edition. 

5. "You are a horrible person!"

That is all the more reason to create and sustain justifying faith by declaring the truth of the Scriptures. The OJists are born forgiven, so they have no need for contrition or forgiveness.

6. "Luther taught Objective Justification." Webber

That statement is direct evidence of Biblical and doctrinal ignorance in the ELS, LCMS, and WELS, because nobody fell off a chair laughing at the paper. WELS published it in their precious Essay File.

7. "There is no connection between OJ and Church Growth." Webber

One only needs to crack open Valleskey's tome, We Believe, Therefore We Speak, which begins with OJ and exhausts almost every fad and dumb idea from Fuller Seminary.

8. "You have criticized Francis Pieper."

The Bible judges all books. If Pieper looks bad in comparison with the Scriptures, then that should take precedence over venerating a dead leader.

9. "Walther always taught OJ."

True, Walther learned OJ from Pastor Martin Stephan, a Pietist with a Pietist congregation, a former student at Halle University, where the Easter absolution of the world was taught.

Irony Galore - Objective Justification Cheerleaders Gather at Otten's Camp Trinity

 A reader wrote to me, "Spencer (below) was the Judas Goat of the Intrepids. He lined us up and ran out. The DPs came out after us."

The LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) have united with ELCA in promoting Church Shrinkage and Objective Justification.

I wondered why Spencer contacted me to help promote anything by Jack B. Simple Cascione. Suddenly they are "scholars" at Camp Trinity with such OJ luminaries as ELDONA fellow traveler Rolf Preus, and WELS Wayne Mueller, former SP-in-Waiting and Church Growth denier.

The speakers I know are ardent OJ Pietists, so I expect the rest are as well.

Wayne Mueller made up the best GA Lie Ever when he published in the WELS magazine that there was no Church Growth in WELS and (notice the pivot) if there was, it was Scriptural. He lost me already on "no CG" because he made sure CG rained down on the faithful like a July thunderstorm.

Spencer told me that Mirthless Mark Schroeder would get rid of Wayne by provoking a confrontation - and it happened just like that. But the trouble with sects run on deception is this - they never change, except for the titular leaders.

 Scaer taught most of the ELDONUTs. He published his hatred of Justification by Faith for all to see - before the blessed birth of ELDONA.

Even ELDONA - which might prosper with some honest contrition - lies about their addiction to OJ while the Rolf Synod was bedded down with them. ELDONA even put their denials on YouTube, so the experienced could shout, "What? Are you kidding me?" at the screen.

Perhaps Rolf could explain to the gathered OJ army what the terms were for their fellowship with the ELDONUTs. Did Rydecki suddenly expose OJ to ELDONA and they shrieked "Heresy!" and posted their Justification by Faith theses?

The Brief Review of The Path To Understanding Justification in Christian News

 I said to the owner of this house, "The land is trying hard to reclaim your hidden path." For over 25 years, no one knew the path existed, because it was neglected and overgrown with grass and weeds. This revelation came as I was finishing the book.

Review of The Path to Understanding Justification, by G. Jackson

Review by David Becker Dr. Gregory L. Jackson, a former Christian News contributor who was friendly to CN many years ago, and whose book, Catholic -Lutheran - Protestant, is still sold by CN, has a new book out, The Path to Understanding Justification. This brief review is based strictly on the book’s contents and is my personal view, not necessarily shared by others who contribute to CN.

Dr. Jackson’s latest book is dedicated to Dr. Walter Maier and Rev. Vernon Harley. Lutheran Hour founding speaker Maier has frequently been praised in CN, and Pastor Harley wrote many devotional articles printed in CN in the 1970s and 1980s.

On page 24, Dr. Jackson says that Eve expected the birth of the promised Messiah in Genesis 4:1, a position also frequently held by Christian News founding editor Herman Otten.

A unique strength of the book is that it includes statements on justification from Lutheran catechisms from the early 1900s.

I would recommend the book for study by anyone and I give it four stars. I don’t give the book the highest five star rating because I think Dr. Jackson is imprecise in what he labels “pietism.” Also, Dr. Jackson does not reference Philip Hale’s recent book, Aspects of Forgiveness, which covers similar ground, although Dr. Jackson did publish a critical review of Hale’s book on his blog.

The 91 page paperback is available for $13.67 through Amazon.com (Kindle edition $0.99). It is also available for free as a dropbox PDF link on Dr. Jackson’s blog, The author has placed the book in the public domain.

***

GJ - On Genesis 4 - I agree with Luther and the plain meaning of the Hebrew text.

Becker's review never used the words - Justification by Faith. That has been my point for a long time. The opponents claim their dogma and anyone who agrees with St. Paul and Luther is a "denier of Objective Justification."

Otten refused to print anything from me after I published Thy Strong Word, which eviscerated Objective Justification and its twin parasite, Church Growth. Not only that, he was happy to print letters against me by CLC Church Shrinkers but refused to publish positive letters.

I published a book about Pietism and Objective Justification - here is a free PDF -
Luther versus the UOJ Pietists.

All my books are public domain and posted as free PDFs.

Customer Review of The Path To Understanding Justification

The Path To Understanding Justification begins with the Scriptures.

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 starsJustification by Faith and how it has come to be disregarded by present-day Lutheran denominations

June 30, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Gregory L Jackson PhD is a confessional Lutheran theologian, pastor, and teacher. He received a STM degree in Biblical studies from Yale in 1973 and he earned a Master's degree and a PhD in theology at the University of Notre Dame in 1982.

Dr Jackson wrote:

“Justification has been taught in two contradictory ways. The traditional teaching has always been Justification by Faith. That is the well-know phrase used by the Holy Spirit and St Paul, repeated as the Chief Article by Luther, Melancthon, and the Book of Concord editors. ... However, the Pietists and Rationalists, ever since Halle University's F. Schleiermacher, have defined Justification as God declaring the whole world forgiven and saved, apart from faith".

In this book, Dr Jackson does the following:

1. Outlines the Biblical Lutheran principle of Justification by Faith
2. Shows how Justification by Faith has been supplanted in the Lutheran conservative denominations by the false doctrine of Universal Justification apart from Faith (known as Objective Justification). He traces the historical progression of Objective Justification from the post-Reformation period through the present day.
3. Explains how Objective Justification has produced the lack of vitality and power we see in the conservative Lutheran denominations today (ELS, LCMS, WELS).

I would recommend this book to someone who wishes to understand the principle of Justification by Faith as it is taught in the Bible, how this principle has come to be disregarded by conservative Lutheran denominations. and the effects this action has had on present-day conservative Lutheran denominations.

Dr Jackson discusses the problems of present day Christian denominations on his internet blog. Google ichabodthegloryhasdeparted for the URL. He conducts a weekly traditional Lutheran worship service via the internet, the blog has a link to the broadcast site which also has archived broadcasts.