Matthias Loy Magazine - On Justification by Faith

John Sparky Brenner WELS professor at two seminaries, MLS and Mordor, admitted in his Jesuit dissertation at Marquette University that Walther's predestination rampage was promoted simply to back up his Objective Justification.

“It is only an effort to mislead the unwary when the cry is raised that grace is disparaged when stress is laid upon faith as indispensable to salvation. There is no such opposition between grace and faith as there is between grace and merit or works, because faith is the only means of appropriating the only merit which can avail for our justification.

From “Election and Justification” in The Columbus Theological Magazine, Vol 1, 1881, Matthias Loy, editor. LutheranLibrary.org

“That the doctrine of justification by faith is thus placed in jeopardy is plain to the view. According to God’s revealed order of salvation He cannot eternally save the soul that has not the righteousness of Christ, which is appropriated only by faith. But the Missouri doctrine of election claims that He selects those whom He designs to save, and infallibly decrees their salvation, without any foresight of faith. The divine declaration, “He that believeth shall be saved,” is translated into the proposition, He whom God pleases shall and must be saved.”

From “Election and Justification” in The Columbus Theological Magazine, Vol 1, 1881, Matthias Loy, editor. LutheranLibrary.org

 Frosty Bivens, Fuller Seminary alumnus (or not, depending on the audience) claims that Objective Justification is the Chief Article of the Christian Faith. His pal Valleskey did not go to Fuller either (or he did, if talking to Fuller fans).

 Zarling, WELS, wrote an unintentionally funny essay on Objective Justification as a "diamond." The essay was so bad that Bivens stole Zarling's main points on OJ being the Chief Article. Kids - plagiarize and you could teach at Mordor.

 The Walther-Stephan faction put F. Pieper (Wisconsin Sect) in place to canonize CFW's 
crypto-Calvinistic OJ. Why did Walther call Loy to be a Missouri professor? Perhaps to silence him.

 Valleskey's lopsided smile is disturbingly like Mark Jeske's.

A Simple Comparison Shows the Three Blind Mice Want You To Be Blind Too

I will drop some supplemental graphics below, but I first want to show how simple it is to compare the truth in the Book of Concord to the rubbish promoted by Matt the Fatt, Mirthless Mark, and Pope John the Malefactor.

The first quotation is the classic definition of the Chief Article of Christianity, articulated by Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz - who was the senior editor of the Formula of Concord. Compare and contrast this with WELS' Zarling and Bivens.

Zarling and Bivens (both WELS) claim in writing that their precious Objective Justification is the Chief Article and that all the praise aimed at Justification by Faith is really about Justification without Faith - OJ.

Phil Hale, the cub editor of Christian News, has solemnly declared that "Justification by Faith is just a phrase." Of course, this phrase hardly ever appears in Christian News, but it does occur frequently in Romans and Galatians, which explain the Chief Article so well.

Calvin

The second quotation may seem odd to most Lutherans - and it is - but I placed it there to show its affinity to the Edward Preuss statement below - ecstatically copied into an Objective Justification essay by Robert Preus. According to Calvin, babies of the "elect" are born forgiven. Just to be clear - because Calvin rejected the Spirit always at work in the Word - he made baptism an ordinance, a law, not God's work but man's witness to his faith. 

Edward Preuss

Justification of the Sinner is a booklet-length essay by Edward Preuss, who taught at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Walther blessed the booklet, even though Preuss left Lutheranism for the Church of Rome and spent the rest of his life promoting Catholicism.

"Yea, in Christ we were justified before we were even born" sounds like Preuss was too close to the incense when writing his booklet, which also has this gem.

"So, then, we are reconciled; however, not only we, but also Hindus, and Hottentots and Kafirs, yes, the world. 'Reconciled,' says our translation; the Greek original says: 'placed in the right relation to God'. Because before the Fall we, together with the whole creation, were in the right relation to God, therefore Scripture teaches that Christ, through His death, restored all things to the former right relation to God." 

F. R. Edward Preuss, 1834-1904, Die Rechtfertigung der Suender vor Gott. Cited in Rick Nicholas Curia, The Significant History of the Doctrine of Objective or Universal Justification, Alpine, California: California Pastoral Conference, WELS. January 24-25, 1983. p. 24. (Rick Curia put together the worst of the worst OJ material. Curiously, his last name is used for the governing body of the Antichrist.)

The Great Walther

If the quotations are read together - a short homework assignment, to be sure - then Calvin, Preus, and Walther are opposed to the Chief Article of Christianity and anxious to replace it with their own dogma. The Book of Concord statement is not an opinion of the Lutherans at that time, but a concise definition that fits all the previous, faithful leaders of Christianity.

To be Biblical, the blind lead the blind - and ignore the clear teaching of Romans and Galatians in order to build and improve upon the Chief Article with... Walther's Universal Absolution, followed by making a decision for Universal Forgiveness. 

The Great Walther belongs with the Great Edward Preuss and the Great Calvin for messing up the Gospel and replacing it with their own fantasies. The post above shows that the Missouri Synod did not start out teaching Objective Justification but clearly taught Justification by Faith until the Brief Statement of 1932 departed from the Chief Article to promote Walther's error.

The Great Valleskey is next to the Great Walther in my Justification folder. Feel free to save and share my graphics. 

Who teaches Decision Theology? Answer - The Great Walther.

Diamond Mark Zarling, WELS, Has the Corona Virus

Zarling and Frosty Bivens teach that Objective Justification is the Chief Article of Christianity. 

I think Zarling was on the choir tour too, which they didn’t cancel... so all those students and congregations were exposed

Zarling is Brown County’s first case.... (New Ulm).

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February 27 – March 8, 2020

College Choir Spring Tour

The MLC College Choir looks forward to sharing God’s Word in song in the Southeast as part of this year’s spring tour. Concerts are planned for the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. Please plan to attend a concert near you, or follow the choir on Facebook with videos from the concerts and stories from the students.

DMLC transformed their college name, 25 years ago, and they transformed the school from a teacher's college into the WELS College of Ministry. Top that, ELCA!

Job Opening - President, Martin Luther College (nee Dr. Martin Luther College)

 Mark Zarling

Zarling is leaving a sinking ship early, like the Concordia's captain.

Help Wanted Ad - WELS Convention

"Active pastor, male teacher, or male staff minister for the position of president of Martin Luther College. No doctoral degree required. This is to fill a vacancy in the president’s office created by President Mark Zarling’s announced desire to retire on June 30, 2020."

Polish the diamond of Objective Justification in retirement, Mark.
That was a great paper - Bivens plagiarized it. 

 Stand in Awe of Justification, The Diamond Among the Jewels of Divine Revelation - M. Zarling

"The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our conscience before God. Without this article the world is utter death and darkness... The doctrine of justification must, as I frequently urge, be diligently learned; for in it all the other articles of our faith are comprehended. And when that is safe, the others are safe too."
(E. M. Plass, ed, What Luther Says: An Anthology, 3 volumes. (St. Louis: CPH, 1959), 2:703-704.)

"The Chief Article"
( P. Melanchthon, "Apology of the Augsburg Confession," Article IV (II): "Of Justification," Concordia Triglotta. (St. Louis: CPH, 1921), p. 121.)

GJ - From the Chief Article to its repudiation, without blushing.

Zarling: "Universal justification" is a term denoting the doctrine that God has forgiven the sins of all men. Strictly speaking, the term "objective justification" expresses the thought that the sins of a man are forgiven by God whether he believes it or not. Objective justification is not necessarily universal, but if justification is universal it must of necessity be objective."
(Becker, S.W. "Objective Justification," an essay delivered to the Chicago Pastoral Conference, No. 9, 1982, page 1.)

 Bivens

The Primary Doctrine in Its Primary Setting: Objective Justification and Lutheran Worship

Frosty Bivens, 1996

“The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our consciences before God. Without this article the world is utter darkness and death.”
(Martin Luther, What Luther Says, Vol. 2. p 703.)
Bivens - "Luther’s appraisal of the doctrine of justification is also ours. We hold it to be the primary doctrine of Scripture, that is, the central and most important teaching revealed by God for us sinners."

GJ - Does he agree with the Chief Article? Like Zarling, he repudiates it.

Bivens - "As revealed in the Bible, this declaration of God is made totally by grace and on account of Jesus Christ and his substitutionary life and death on behalf of mankind. To phrase it somewhat differently, God has justified acquitted or declared righteous the whole world of sinners. He has forgiven them." 

***

 Andrea's catechism is the original Gausewitz.

 Gausewitz was used throughout the Synodical Conference, so guys - quit lying to everyone about OJ always being taught.

GJ 

Bivens just happened to start his dishonest essay in the same deceitful way Mark Zarling began his. 

WELS originally taught Justification by Faith and used the King James Version. They ash-canned the JBFA Gausewitz and replaced it with Kuske's OJ catechism. Before that, WELS eviscerated the KJV in preparation for destroying the sect with OJ and Church Growth.

When Will the Clergy Start Listening to the Laity Who Study These Issues?

A Reader Had This Conversation with Me - Slightly Edited. His Comments Are in Blue, Mine in Black and White

 I had some free time today...

"Objectively speaking, without any reference to an individual sinner's attitude toward Christ's sacrifice, purely on the basis of God's verdict, every sinner, whether he knows about it or not, whether he believes it or not, has received the status of a saint. What will be his reaction when he is informed about this turn of events? Will he accept, or will he decline?"

lf I didn't know any better.... isn't this UOJ some sort of backdoor to Decision Theology???

There's nothing spoken here of faith or the Holy Spirit at work....just man's decision. And they were worried about personal faith being a work? Seriously?

Welcome to the Southern Baptist Conference.....

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Repeating this often enough in WELS will get a guy published,
promoted, and protected as he acts out this foul dogma.

GJ - In fact, Walther's statement is very much the same, but JP "improves" on it. Mission creep, I guess. I added Valleskey's graphic. I will be dealing with him in reviewing Brenner's book Jars of Clay, in the future.

One pastor said that WELS members should join a Southern Baptist church if they move to where there are no WELS churches. (He made a point of attacking me too, although I do not know him.) When I published that, I think only on email, he retracted it right away. Not that I believe his retraction.

Your comments have spurred some additional emails about UOJ. 

 Bivens bragged about going to Fuller Seminary, as Valleskey did, but both buddies denied it. They called me a liar, etc, etc.
David Koenig was angry that I told the truth about Valleskey's confession. Every UOJ leader is a smirking double-talker, but God will judge.

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Exactly.  I had Walther's Easter message in mind when was staring at Meyer's quote.

I'm glad people are talking about that last email.  For here is where the rubber meets the road -- how UOJ affects doctrine and practice in the parish.  Why?  Because doctrine and practice has a direct impact on faith of our brothers and sisters in the body.  I believe this is vitally important.  Bad doctrine (heretical doctrines) can damage faith.  I believe Luther understood that, and that was one was, at least one driver behind his catechisms.

Faith...in the end, that's the only way we'll leave this world alive.  Buildings fall, churches burn, institutions fail, but if one has faith in God's promises in His word, it will all end well for the individual.

This is why doctrine is so vital -- because doctrine can keep faith healthy or kill it.  For this reason, your polemics don't bother me in the least.  With your background in the LCA tradition, I wonder how you coudn't be furious at the faithless pastors who led their flocks astray in your lifetime.  Indeed, I have contempt for what I have seen as well.

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 When people discuss Walther's stupidity in teaching against Justification by Faith, the SynCons respond that Schmidt objected "for personal reasons" (Brenner) and "because he did not get the call" (Servant of the Word) that Walther maneuvered for Pieper (as revealed by L. Fuerbringer). How do they explain everyone else who left the rationalistic Halle Pietism of Walther? They do not bother to explain that.

GJ - Lately I have been getting emails and messages from various laity and a few (very few) pastors. Their plain-spoken messages reach other laity quite well, but the clergy remain hardened and blinded against Justification by Faith.

The issue is not fidelity to Luther as much as it faithfulness to the Scriptures. The Gospel of John reveals that Jesus clearly and constantly taught faith in Him as forgiveness and salvation.

The WELS radicals, led by 20 graduates from St. Louis, guided the movement away from the Scriptures and Confessions. At the same time, they were jealous and envious of the Missouri Synod, so they wanted to be peculiar, different, and elite - at least in their own eyes. G

By killing off any inquiry into this blasphemous dogma, WELS succeeded in aligning itself with ELCA, Fuller Seminary, and the worst of the crackpot mega-pastors. I recall many hilarious examples of LCMS and WELS clergy speaking low to me lest they be heard on the streets of Gath. But no one seems bothered by the "conservative Lutheran" clergy venerating C. Peter Wagner and other prime examples of fraud, exploitation, and peculation. They could build mission churches simply by placing a tax on each Lutheran student of Fuller Seminary, Trinity Divinity, or Willow Creek. Call it a "sin tax."

 Herman Otten thinks every pastor should be like Reuel Schulz, who sang the praises of Wagner and Fuller Seminary...and Otten, of course. Enthusiasm in the doctrinal sense (Luther) is so much the same in every flavor. Remember Fruit Stripe gum? Five colors, one flavor.

That WELS - That Precious Dogma of World Absolution - But the Left Foot of Fellowship for Knowing Their Game

From one who was kicked out of WELS forty years ago (1978),  your comment that "They did me a great favor" is well stated.

   

Perhaps having both David Valleskey and Forrest Bivens

as pastors in neighboring congregations, and Paul Kelm and Richard Stadler as vicars shared by the congregations during their vicarages was enabling to be able to recognize  changes being promoted and practiced early on.  

 Mars to Kelm, "Do you copy?"
Kelm to Mars, "I copy everything from Fuller, yes."

All the signs of  "change agents" at work in WELS were there. The course of the process of objections paralleled the research and resistance re: the government schools and other traditional institutions in which I was involved was the same..  

WELS was mimicking what we (there were others) were fighting in the secular arena, and claiming the objectionable methodology could be sanctified for use by WELS.

 No, I am sure WELS has sunk even lower than this.

 Boozey Bible Study at Victory.
Bar Ministry at The CORE.

Fulleroids Are Everywhere Now. Steve Spencer Raises a Feeble Voice of Protest

Kudzu vine was promoted by the government as the solution to
many problems, but the plant can hardly be killed,
so it swallows up entire regions.
This remarkable Photoshop shows WELS being engulfed by Fuller kudzu while suffering from the Larry Olson staph infection crisis.

The news article on Fuller Seminary shows that the school is closing down some traditional campuses, but expanding in the online business. The statistics are not clearly reported, but the total enrollment remains appalling - 6,500.

A Fulleroid is a pain in the neck who has attended Fuller Seminary or its clones. The Lutheran Fulleroids like Waldo Werning first denied being there, but there was a group of Lutherans who joined the Fuller Church Growth group. Wagner also recognized five LCMS leaders for being among the Who's Who in Church Growth.

Fuller and UOJ go together like
ketchup and French Fries.

Here is more choice material for those who like to do their research on Fuller, WELS, LCMS, and Church Growth.

The current numbers at Fuller Seminary only hint at the influence of the school, its faculty, its programs, and its toxic books. The Evangelicals have been swamped by the rationalistic, Pietistic, and Pentecostal effluence of Church Growth. The mainline leaders and Roman Catholic leaders have studied there and made their missions people subordinate themselves to the program.

Because there are so many, they make sure their pals are hired and promoted to serve their Father Below. The LCMS Michigan District changed its Evangelism committee's name to "Evangelism and Church Growth." That is like calling a department of government "Commerce and Marxist Leninism" - a bit of a compromise. No one would wonder which one dominates - commerce or Communism.

These snake oil salesmen fashioned careers
out of promoting Church Growth.
The toothless, spineless pastors went along with it.
Mark and Avoid Jeske is the biggest winner among the Fulleroids.

The Fulleroid numbers also guarantee that anyone objecting to their business model is extended the Left Foot of Fellowship. Herman Otten is a good guy because he sells Valleskey's Church Growth textbook.

Valleskey and his buddy Frosty Bivens are typical of the WELS double-talk approach to everything. They brag about going to Fuller Seminary, but when asked directly, they deny it and call those who label them Fulleroid as "liars." Who is doing the lying?

I could not recommend any "Lutheran" seminary for future Lutheran pastors, because they all teach apostasy, whether the raunchier style of ELCA's failing schools, or the subtler approach of the two Concordias, Mordor, and Bethany.

Werning went ballistic when I quoted him saying that
he went to Fuller Seminary. Valleskey ran away.
Bivens bragged about being a Fulleroid to his WELS entire circuit,
but called me a liar for quoting him.

One of the Fulleroid passions is to get people away from the Biblical model of shepherd, whose Latin name is pastor. They want positive messages from a rancher. "Don't be a shepherd," they say as they browbeat easily-influenced students. "Be ranchers. Aim for bigness."

Decades ago, Kent Hunter (Fuller DMin, like Larry Olson) wrote, "Shepherds do not have sheep. Sheep have sheep." So that is one of the distinctive characteristics of Fulleroids - not that Kent or Larry did much shepherding or ranching. Both left the parish to be hot air merchants.

Essential to this movement is avoiding any confrontation. Talking to Hunter, as one person said, is like trying to pick up a bar of soap on the shower floor. They want to avoid an argument, a position. They flatter and remain positive, as if John 10 teaches - "I am the Jolly Rancher."

They have their reward. They worship growth but their own institutions are crumbling around them, because of their influence, their dogma, their corruption, avarice, and coveting. The one thing they crave will never belong to them and they will die in their sins.

One Lutheran observer said, "That is why the District Presidents are alcoholics. They have to be, to live with the evil they do."

 "Dr. Ben Dover will examine you now,
but the treatment will be very expensive."

PS - The eternally disappointing Steve Spencer, founder of the Intrepid Lutherans - and the first to run away - finally came out in the open against the Change or Die! programs of Mark Jeske, his bro in the WELS ministry.

And he did it in the current issue of Christian News! Like all surviving WELS pastors, he did not criticize WELS, or any WELS leader, or any WELS dogma. Instead he questioned the Siebert Foundation for running the annual circus of solidarity between the ELCA, the LCMS, and WELS.

Is that Steve Witte, a WELS founder of Church and Change,
joining ELCA woman minister in teaching Church Growth?
Did Mark and Avoid Jeske organize this travesty?
But of course he did.

Proof That Someone Reads This Blog - From 2009. Enhanced with New Graphics

Oops, wrong graphic. This one is for all the comments from Church and Chicanery zombies.

Lesli Frank has left a new comment on your post "The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name: Stealth Con...":

I would personally like to thank you for your thorough investigation of these churches and pastors. Often times when my family and I go on vacation, other than sound emphasis on God's word, we don't really know what we are going to experience when we go to a WELS church. Because of your reporting, we now know that if we are in the areas of these churches you have highlighted here, we will most certainly attend them. We are always looking for the congregations that are looking to preach and live out the gospel message that Christ died to give us the freedom to follow Him. While most churches claim that and may very well do that, it seems that those that are willing to acknowledge that God himself gives no preference over traditional or contemporary, and He certainly doesn't state that either is wrong and that really appeals to us. May all of these churches and their pastors be blessed according to God's promise to those persecuted for His namesake. To God be all the glory.



GJ - Clearly this family thinks worship is an adiaphoron. Now they can have snacks and softdrinks at many WELS churches, like Victory of the Lamb, and Bible study with booze, too. See the links in the left column.

***

GJ - Once I told Doctrinal Pussycat Robert Mueller what a church member related to me. She said, "When my husband and I worship at WELS churches in Florida, the only way we can tell they are Lutheran is from the sign outside." That was 20 years ago. (27 years ago now)

Mueller glared at me. He claimed I was the "only one having problems with the Church Growth Movement." When I mentioned Pastor Stern's problems with CG, Mueller and Oelhafen immediately began making fun of Stern. I thought, "So this is how the Wisconsin leaders act?" And that was not the most disgusting moment by far.

WELS Pastor Jon Stern does not seem to be feeling fabulious
when posing with Scott Barefoot. Thanks to WELS' new
direction under Mark Schroeder,
they can say "Bottoms up!' with conviction.

I hear positive comments from a wide variety of people, included ordained pastors with some clout. No ELS, WELS, or LCMS pastor is allowed to be caught thinking. The officials remove the pastor by any means possible (since the officials reject the Means of Grace) and spew their venom on him and his family. I have seen it many times over. Next they justify their criminal behavior as saving their beloved Holy Mother Synod from harm. The results speak for themselves.

So I get a lot of positive remarks from all over, by phone, email, and even in person.

And there is this one:

"A friend alerted me to your slander. Please remove my name and image from your web site. I did not attend the Exponential conference. Get your facts straight.

Sincerely,
Ben Golisch"

I am checking it out with my source. I will make the correction if it is correct. The comment was anonymous and could have come from anyone, including Gunga Don. I do not think people have control over their published photos.

Pastor Ben fails to mention his co-pastor Stelljes being at Exponential. Stelljes is directly related to VP Gunga Don Patterson's Church and Change Network. Daddy Stelljes is a member at Holy Word, an ironic name for Patterson's nest of Enthusiasts.

CLC Pastor David Koenig is a big fan of Church Growth, false doctrine,
David Valleskey, and Larry Olson - but I am repeating myself.
Gutsche has been a pastor in ELCA, ELCiC, WELS, and the CLC,
but ELCA kicked him out when he was arrested and charged.

For years Valleskey peddled the lie that he never went to Fuller. He even claimed that his study of Church Growth was forced upon him when he gave his Figs From Thistles paper (which WLQ subsequently published). He had been teaching CG at The Sausage Factory for some time already, and his class notes clearly showed that he was completely smitten by Church Growth. When CLC (sic) Pastor David Koenig got him to admit going to Fuller, Valleskey was furious that Koenig told me the truth in writing. Of course, Koenig was also mad as a hatter about my publication of the truth. Church Growth never advanced by being honest with anyone.

Yet Valleskey denied going to Fuller when I asked him after he gave his horrible paper at the Ohio conference.

Later, Valleskey even claimed I never spoke to him, a common WELS accusation aiimed at any public criticism of their published false doctrine. Of course, that was also a fabrication. I had to corner Valleskey, who tried to escape my probing questions. That claim about never speaking to Valleskey was passed on by Doctrinal Pussycat Nitz, whom Frosty Bivens called "the second most spineless DP in WELS."

A Midland circuit pastor asked, "Who is the most spineless?"

Frosty said, " Robert Mueller."

Later, Tim Buelow related his shock at Bivens openly criticizing an official. Normally the officials all treat each other as infallibly led by the Holy Spirit. One pastor even said, "I am not going to argue with the Circuit Pastor. The Holy Spirit appointed him." When ex-convict DP Ed Werner was choosing CPs who would wink at his criminal behavior, was that the work of the Holy Spirit?

DP Ed Werner was known for molesting girls in his congregation.
WELS did nothing until he was convicted, thanks to a new generation
of victims and their mothers.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Proof That Someone Reads This Blog with Discernmen...":

How ironic that the Doctrinal Pussycat is now filling a vacancy in Florida! He'll fit right in there.