Tonight's Icha-Peek: Calvinist News Buries Justification by Faith Again!

 Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz are missing from this graphic. Calvin, Knapp, and Hale (in descending order) dominate instead.

Below is a typical tip-toe around Justification by Faith, equating Justification with Atonement in a sly or cowardly way. Prove me wrong. These Objective Justification fanatics will say justification but loath the Biblical and Book of Concord phrasing - Justification by Faith. Hale sells the butchered Beck Bible, so he is far gone on Biblical issues. 

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A Simple Explanation of the Articles of the June 13, 2022 CHRISTIAN NEWS www.ChristianNewsMo.com PAGE 5 Augsburg Confession Article 4: Justification 

1] Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for 2] Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. 3] This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4.

 Justification is the heart of the Christian faith. Our salvation is not about our thoughts, deeds, or efforts. Christ, the Son of God, won for us salvation. He did it all in His holy, sinless body. How we receive that salvation is what divides Christian churches today. We believe that God sees us as righteous through faith, which is a gift He gives through the Spirit. This main article should be applied in all teaching and preaching. All divine teaching supports this comfort we have in the Gospel, and in turn we are made alive by the Spirit in this hope. Justification, that is, how the holy God sees us is not thought important by man. We always think that what happens on earth or in our lives matters most. But faith is trusting that God accepts us for what Jesus did. The righteousness of Christ is ours, so we are seen as holy as Christ is before the Father. To God we are righteous, and so we truly are. If we believed this without any doubt at all, we would fear nothing in the world. But even the weakest faith in the risen Jesus is counted as righteousness to us; no sin or guilt remains on those God has justified. Abraham “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). God’s declaration, crediting, or imputation is a legal accounting—but a true one we can live by. We are accounted as righteous, though we are nothing but sinners. This is the only teaching that can give comfort to the lost and broken. It must all be Christ’s doing, if we are to stand before the Father at the Last Day victorious. Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4) But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) 

The Pamphlet - "We Still Believe" - Reveals a Horrible Secret - Denying Justification without Faith. Yes!

I commented on the brochure 9 years ago.
This is the link.

On a website of a church near us, I ran into the wording of my We Still Believe pamphlet, which I encouraged Lutheran pastors to use, if they wished. I did not ask to be named, paid, or honored in any way. I ran into a copy on the Lutheran website tonight, so I grew curious about it still being used.

The pamphlet was used in Columbus, Ohio, which has a large ELCA population, so it was aimed at those smarting from ELCA rationalism and apostasy. I copied it for Christian News and welcomed congregations to use the wording. Many different synods used it while condemning me, an endless source of amusement for me and Christina.

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We Still Believe - Pamphlet Reactions, 2008

That is almost exactly the We Believe Statement printed inside of Crossroads Worship Folder. Rachel

September 28, 2007 at 7:43 AM

 Anonymous said...

Interestingly, a quick google search shows that there are other WELS congregations and even a CELC congregation that also use this "Mission Statement".

Re Gregory Jackson, be aware that while some of what he writes is "good", he does not believe in and is a very vocal opponent of objective or universal justification (which I suppose is one of the reasons that to my knowledge he is not in fellowship with any major (or even minor) Lutheran body). There are really good essays on the subject of objective justification by Prof. S. Becker, see, e.g., http://www.wlsessays.net/authors/B/BeckerUniversal/BeckerUniversal.PDF.

October 9, 2007 at 7:38 AM

 Anonymous said...

This Statement is also on quite a number of CLC (Church of the Lutheran Confession) websites.

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Flood Watch for Our Area - Planting and Eating the Best

I had a couple of bargain roses left to plant; I thought that would take very little time. But I barely got two divots in the rose garden, even though I watered yesterday and some rain fell. The little craters would absorb some rain later, I thought. Then - boom, crash. After the first round of rain and thunder, we enjoyed a pause.

I went inside, thinking about our growing nutrition fan club. I get a lot of responses about replacing our way reliance on the sugar-salt-fat group with the vegetables-greens-beans-fruit-nuts group.

In short - we need to replace the fattening, over-priced prepared, over-salted foods with foods that cost little and have great benefits. Long-term food choices are either 

• The dessert kind, which stuff us and empty our pockets, or 
• The nutritious kind, which are low-cost and loaded with medicinal value - like the old days of picking fresh food out of the garden.

The nutritious kind are -

1. Super-nutritious greens, fresh or frozen vegetables.
2. Inexpensive beans.
3. Fresh fruits of all kinds.
4. Nuts that have special qualities - almonds, walnuts, etc.

For lunch today I began with mustard greens, the first time ever in my life. I use a larger sauce pan and add ingredients as I paw through the freezer. I have spurned fresh spinach, kale, mustard greens, etc for the chopped, frozen versions. They last much longer. Here is one link on mustard greens.

Chickpeas (garbanzo) are the basis for a meal, delicious and inexpensive, protein and fiber plus many nutritional benefits.

I love breads and cookies, growing up in a bakery and feeling no ill effects from the fringe benefits of having fresh desserts of all kinds. The trouble with bakery output is its lack of nutrition and its ability to make us crave even more. I have moved from apple pie and apple turnovers to apples. Apple pie is great with whipped cream and ice cream, but no one would use either additive to a fresh, raw, juicy apple. 

It is more a matter of seeing the correct foods as delicious and healing, the bad foods as contributing to our worst medical fears: heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes, high cholesterol - all addressed by good foods.

Craving!

Craving, I'm craving and feeling so hungry.

I'm craving, craving for chocolates so few.

I knew you'd feed me as long as I wanted,

And then someday you'd leave me for some body new.

[Apologies to Patsy Cline, one of the greatest singers of all time.]

 

 Blueberries or blueberry pie, kid?