Faith, the Neos, and the Quasis

 "UOJ is in here somewhere."

The pivotal issue in modern theology is faith, because the modern theologians are against it. As Professor Charles Caldwell said, "Faith without belief," and "Radicalism with a sentimental attachment to the Bible."

The origin? Calvin, his double-predestination, and his rationalism. He was Walther before Walther, which is why LCemessians should not study Calvin. They would see too much of their idol Walther in the Great Calvin.

When I hear Lutheran pastors warn against "making faith a work of man," I am reminded of all those Calvinism liberal apostate theologians. They have their little slogans too, the chief one being, "Do not allow for a contingency, because then grace is no longer grace." A contingency clause starts with if, so the modern theologians and Synodical Conference blind guides emphasize universal grace, universal forgiveness, universal salvation. But that does not mean Universalism!?

Paul did not raise himself to the level of being God's counselors, but these quacks do. So let us look at one verse which endangers their false doctrine so much that they purposefully ignore it. Yes, purpose-driven false exegesis.

Romans 4:24-25 King James Version (KJV)

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

QED (therefore, it is demonstrated that) - God speaks about forgiveness if we believe. See just a few of the passages in the Bible that address this directly, opposed to UOJ.

On the Biblical side - the Holy Spirit works through the invisible Word of teaching and preaching to bring Jesus and His grace to individuals. The Holy Spirit also works throug the visible Word (the Sacraments) as instruments of God's grace.

The Enthusiasts of Rome, Geneva, Wheaton, and Pasadena do not acknowledge or teach the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. Therefore, they mill about in confusion about the way in which people are converted to the Gospel, forgiven, and saved. 

Almost all modern theologians are neos - they work against faith and deny faith - but they imagine their work is a collection of fabulous wisdom. Although it may be interesting to read the imaginative literature of C. S. Lewis, he was a neo, enchanted with his own views, which are are dog-eared ideas from Calvinism.

Those who identify as conservative Lutherans and even call themselves orthodox or confessional...wait, I have to pause to stop laughing - they are quasi-Lutheran at best. They know a little more about Luther than the average Unitarian, but not much. They just remember a few more talking points from Dogmatics 101. They do not read or study Luther's sermons, which are the key to everything the Reformer did.

Didja ever walk home from junior or senior high school, starved for somethign to eat? We often had donuts in a box, sometimes days old and hard as rocks. El donuts can be harder than granite when left alone a few days.When nothing was immediately available to eat, I warmed up the donuts.  I satisfied my immediate hunger, but that was not exactly nutrition. 

The Quasi-Lutherans are always looking for something, because they utterly neglect Luther and the Confessions. They see their Calvinistic Bible (probably NIV or ESV) as their guide, and grab anti-Means of Grace material as their snackfood.

On vacation in Florida, in the old days, my parents got lower and lower in cash. We were only eating fast food on the way home to Moline. What seems to appealing gets tiresome in time. Even as a kid I missed having a real, home cooked meal. Could that be the reason so few people want to sit through another amateur music hour, another meal of spiritual Twinkies and Diet Dr. Thunder?

 "We have apprehended the Justification by Faith rebel, Lord Vader. He is resisting arrest, so we will have to make him a little more eager to listen to your wisdom."

Beware of Knocking "Faith as a Work of Man"

John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

As anyone can plainly see, believing in Him is connected to the Bread of Life, never hungering, never thirsting.

 Eating three donuts will make someone hungry for three more. Donut ask how I know.

Our Congregation's Attorney - Glen Kotten - Found a Post from 2011 That He Appreciated

 Hi Pastor Jackson, I stumbled across this letter from Brett Meyer on your blog, very quality writing and it expresses my sentiment with the Lutheran sects. In Christ, Glen 

From 2011

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2011/03/letter-to-uoj-fanatics-in-wels-missouri.html

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Letter to the UOJ Fanatics in WELS, Missouri, the ...":

WELS, ELS and LCMS Pastor Mark Jeske from the Time of Grace money sponge speaks for the (W)ELS, carrying the UOJ banner high with:

On the other hand, Schuller does have an important message for all public proclaimers of God’s Word. If we are not careful, our law-messages can be presented so forcefully that they stick in hearers’ minds more than our gospel-messages. We don’t want Christians’ dominant phrase of self-description to be “I am a poor, miserable sinner.” The truth is that forgiveness trumps sin, resurrection trumps death, hope trumps fear, and Christ rules. If you believe the Christian gospel, you automatically become an optimist. We can indeed do all things through him who gives us strength.
http://www.timeofgraceblog.org/2010/11/01/crystal-debt/

Jeske is following his Satanic Mentor Leonard Sweet in elevating man and perverting Christianity.

---

Dear UOJ Fanatics,

Many of you complain loudly--behind closed doors and in secret emails--about the disgusting, embarrassing, and anti-Christian antics of your group. I just want to mention that you are just as much at fault as they are, for supporting false doctrine that naturally leads to what they are doing:

1. Hiding the name Lutheran.
   
2. Hiding the sacraments.
   
3. Removing the liturgy and Creeds.
   
4. Plagiarizing Groeschel's sermons.
   
5. Imitating the worst of the Emergent Church fads.
   
6. Adulterating the Word to attract more people.
   
7. Offering bad music as a replacement for sacred music.
   
8. Yardwork clothes worn on the stage, which was once the chancel.
   
9. Giving treats, sodas, and coffee to consume during the service.
   
10. Mocking worship by dancing in front of the altar in a preaching gown.
    
11. Baiting the hook, offering soccer and head-banger music if youth will pretend to engage in Bible study of some type, always imported from false teachers.
    
12. Working with ELCA on religious projects.
    
13. Raising money from different sects that apparently do not agree on doctrine, although they do agree on false doctrine.
    
14. Funding the Salvation Army! (for the babies)
    
15. Women's ordination and crypto-women's ordination...women usurping authority, teaching men, and leading worship.
    

You think they are the bad guys, but they are only carrying out the implications of Universal Objective Justification, which is your only doctrine and their foundational belief.

You are conservative Pietists, you complainers, while they are the liberal Pietists.

This is why. most of you in the fragments and diaspora of the Synodical Conference bow to the strange opinion of Halle professor Georg Christian Knapp. Pietism borrowed this concept from Calvinism, and Knapp wrote it into his lectures. Woods translated the golden sentences which are the core of your doctrine and practice, and that book is still in print.

I will reprint it from the copy I own. This book was already in circulation in English and German before C. F. W. Walther landed in New Orleans. And it is still in print today. UOJ is the doctrine of ELCA and the Universalists.

This is very conveniently expressed by the terms objective and subjective justification. Objective justification is the act of God, by which he proffers pardon to all through Christ; subjective, is the act of man, by which he accepts the pardon freely offered in the Gospel. The former is universal, the latter not.

Double-justification (UOJ) merges the Atonement with justification by faith, yielding a sterile mulish doctrine for mules to follow. And you do follow it. You talk fellowship, but you ignore it. You talk closed communion and wink at open communion. You condemn ELCA's gaity, but you tolerate your own college (in WELS) promoting a plagiarized gay video. You are so superior to ELCA but you work with them on religious projects and teach the same sterile mulish doctrine.

Mulish is too polite for your pursuit of forgiveness without faith. But let's go over what you love so dearly:

1. UOJ omits the Means of Grace completely.
2. UOJ denies original sin, with the bizarre claim that babies are born already justified, without Holy Baptism, already forgiven, without the Word.
   
3. UOJ separates the Holy Spirit from the Word, making all of you adherents Enthusiasts, false teachers condemned by the Book of Concord you ignore so famously.
   
4. UOJ confuses Atonement and justification by faith, pronouncing it a sin to distinguish between the two.
   
5. UOJ lies about its origins, because it cannot be found before Pietism, whether in Luther, the Book of Concord, or the post-Concordists. The honest scholars admit that, but you do not.
   
6. UOJ denigrates faith and often describes the order of salvation in terms of decision theology.
   
7. UOJ is so derogatory toward faith that its most consistent followers, like Schleiermacher, simply drop faith and teach Universalism.
   
8. UOJ uses the terms "all are saved" in many different documents, so the Universalism is already there, though hidden behind the fig-leaf of you gotta believe it.
   
9. UOJ is Antinomian, teaching that the Law no longer exists, but you adherents are especially legalistic, making up more rules than the famous rabbis of old - not that the rules ever apply to you.
   

I know from many communications that your groups are not united in this ridiculous doctrine, perhaps because it was not made "official" until fairly recently - the Brief Statement of 1932 and the Kuske Catechism. Missouri and WELS both taught justification by faith, even though Walther and Pieper were all mixed up about it. The ELS may have been true to its Norwegian Pietism and stayed where they started, in Enthusiasm. Your laity see through in the insane contradictions of UOJ, but you clergy do not. You chatter on about it, superficially repeating the talking points drilled into you. You really need to have synod-wide studies of the Book of Concord, setting aside the Roman Catholic doctrine of Holy Mother Church. Your sect is not infallible. Your leaders are not infallible. It's time:

1. To tremble at the Word of God, instead of the footsteps of the DP.
   
2. To make Luther the most copied preacher in Lutherdom - instead of Groeschel.
   
3. To apologize to the laity for misleading them, exploiting them, and abusing them.
   
4. To rebuke, convert, or excommunicate the false teachers.
   

The Quia Marias Do Not Know, Acknowledge, or Trust The Book of Concord as Their Own

Here is an exercise - try to find a Synodical Conference leader saying Justification by Faith.

Ask around and all the Synodical Conference ministers will say they have a quia subscription to the Book of Concord. That means they agree with the Lutheran Confessions because (quia) they are a correct exposition of the Scriptures. And oh - the Scriptures are inerrant and infallible.

They are quia Marias because they do not have the courage to confess the truth of the Scriptures but march to the orders of their Fuller-trained, Trinity Divinity honed leaders. I hate to impugn the dignity of little girls by comparing the quia Marias to them. Little girls are more steadfast, more intrepid than the pastors who want to wear those labels.

A layman asked his pastor to teach a course about the Lutheran Confessions. The pastor said, "They are boring and irrelevant" as his reason for refusing.

Pastors were thrown into prison and exiled for those Confessions, but of course, many gave into the threats and silenced themselves about Calvin's odious dogmas. That is why I laughed at the "conservative" Lutheran leaders who pretended to admire Paul Gerhardt during the 400th anniversary of his birth. Did they look into the perfect mirror of the Law and see themselves persecuting the faithful with their grab-bag of dogmas and gimmicks?

 Three blind guides, three blind guides,
See how they grin. See how they grin.
They all ran after the Fuller growth
For UOJ they all take oaths
Did you ever see such useless blokes
As three blind guides?

We all know that most congregations do not sing Paul Gerhardt very often. One Bethany Lutheran Seminary professor said about Johann Gerhard, "I love his hymns." Wrong! So the fakery about the Gerhardt anniversary did not make much of a dent on Lutherdom or the laity.

This year, the conservative sects had trouble disguising their contempt for Luther, especially their loathing of his doctrine.

1. The LCMS made OJ/SJ official in their new "catechism" and doubtless in their $90 Dogma-tanic (two volumes of bilge).
2. The ELS celebrated the 500th with another tedious offering on OJ/SJ. 
3. WELS has forgotten and disposed of Gausewitz, whose catechism was a simple presentation of the Scriptures behind Luther's catechism. They celebrated the upcoming Reformation festivities by kicking out Rydecki for teaching Justification by Faith. To show their colors, they hosted Natalie Pratt's phony Reformation shindig, which made lots of synod money disappear and attracted almost no one.

 This settles UOJ once and for all, but the Quia Marias do not care for the Confessions at all.

Some Questions To Ask about Justification. PLUS - Scriptures That Destroy UOJ. Send In Your Ideas and They Will Be Added

Here is some background about Justification.

 People solemnly say, "OJ protects the doctrine of Justification."
Oh? How does an invented dogma - OJ - protect the Gospel? When did the Gospel need protection? A mighty shield and weapon or something weak that needs protecting?

Here are questions to ask:

1. What is the Chief Article of Christianity? Where is this language found?
2. Do you believe that God forgave the sins of the entire world? If so, when did that happen - at the death of Christ, His resurrection, or another time, such as the angelic announcement - Peace on earth? Where is this written?
3. What does Objective Justification mean? It is not in the Bible or the Book of Concord.
4. What does Subjective Justification mean? I have not found it in the Bible or the Book of Concord.
5. What did our early catechisms teach?
6. How did anyone teach Justification without OJ and SJ - and then only after the era of Pietism and rationalism at Halle University?
7. Why should we teach what ELCA teaches - that the entire world is already saved?
8. Why are we using the NIV, which has changed Paul's words about Justification in Romans 3?
9. If Abraham is the example of Justification by Faith in Genesis 15, Romans 4, and Galatians, then who is our example of Justification without Faith? 
10. If Paul teaches OJ - as you claim - why does he clearly teach Justification by Faith? Does he contradict himself, because some of your leaders really hate Justification by Faith.
11. The Gospel is the God-power unto salvation for everyone who believes in Romans 1:16, so how is everyone saved as DP Buchholz claims?
12. I always heard "raised for our justification!" Romans 4:25, but then I read Romans 4:24 - if we believe... Who is mixed up?
13. Romans 5 begins with Justification by Faith. Did Paul switch to OJ in the same chapter?
14. The Means of Grace chapter, Romans 10, is clear about faith and forgiveness. Was Paul confused about this? Or are we?
15. Is a seminary president from Canada more authoritative than Luther?
16. If the Book of Concord says we should study Luther's Galatians Lectures, to learn more about Justification by Faith, why are we ignoring that book - and Luther - this anniversary year?
17. Why do the liberal Lutherans and the conservative Lutherans hate Luther so much? But they still sell Luther trinkets and toys?
18. Which is better - the original Small Catechism or the latest version and notes from our synod?

Scriptures That Destroy Universal Objective Justification, Root and Branch

Genesis 15:6 King James Version (KJV)

6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Mark 16:16 King James Version (KJV)

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (GJ - Another reason to adopt the NIV - it kicks this verse into the footnotes.)

John 3:16 King James Version (KJV)

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:36 King James Version (KJV)

36 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. (GJ -Does Jon-Boy know?)

John 6:27 King James Version

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Romans 1:16 King James Version (KJV)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (GJ - Don't tell Jay or Pope John the Malefactor.)

Romans 3:21-22 King James Version (KJV)

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Romans 4:24-25 King James Version (KJV)

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Romans 5:1-2 King James Version (KJV)

5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 10:1-17 King James Version (KJV)

10 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Galatians 3:6-7 King James Version (KJV)

6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

What Does One Do in a Congregation Where Doctrinal Error Exists?

 Luther was not born with a Greek New Testament in one hand and the Hebrew Old Testament in the other. He had to unlearn a lot of error, and he learned the Biblical languages later in life.

Individuals ask, from time to time, about being in congregation where error is taught, such as the omnipresent Universal Objective Justification, which is the norm for WELS-ELCA-ELS-LCMS-CLC (sic).

The Pietists say, "You must join a pure denomination - ours. All the rest are eeeevul." But as you see, and as they freely confess, the leaders of those groups teach the same ridiculous garbage, and glory in it, as Paul predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2.

Not all the pastors in each group teach UOJ. Some have IQs above room temperature and actually study and think on their own.

But the most sincere ministers are still trained in a terrible climate for learning Biblical doctrine. Some may think they have resisted it, but the influence remains to some degree. For example, practically every Lutheran pastor feels a bit odd about saying the word "faith" and may feel apologetic and defensive even when they know better.

This is where the informed layman, male or female, may ask questions and pursue the issue. After all, what good is this Biblical knowledge if it is not shared in a dark or foggy place?

Some ministers imagine that Objective Justification is just another word for the Atonement, doubtless because Atonement passages are always being cited as OJ (gasp, sigh, roll eyes toward heaven).

And therefore they imagine Subjective Justification means Justification by Faith. But the stolid Stormtroopers of UOJ do not teach that, even though they let people revert to Biblical thinking from hearing the Word and believing what God teaches.

 Of course WELS teaches Universalism. Buchholz promoted it in his disastrous comedy of false doctrine. "Jesus Saved," past tense, finished, certain, lovingly enshrined in the WELS Holy of Holies - the Essay File.

Jon-Boy Buchholz denied to my face that WELS teaches Univesalism, and yet he does teach Universalism in his own miserable convention essay (gasp, sigh, roll eyes toward heaven). Confidential to the DP - most people in the world have never heard of you, your grandfather, your district, or your sect.

Therefore, someone can work on getting the issue studied and clarified in the congregation for several reasons -

1. WELS taught Justification by Faith in the original Gausewitz Catechism. This continued until the vacuous Kuske catechism introducted UOJ.
2. Until the dark reign of Matt the Fatt, the LCMS always taught Justification by Faith in its official catechisms. When challenged on behalf of Justification by Faith, as Pastor V. Harley did, LCMS did not smack him down or discipline him in any way.

• Harley - 2 Corinthians 5:19ff - Reconciliation
• Harley - Exegetical Essay
• Harley - Saints - Colossians 1:13ff
• Harley - Synergism and UOJ
• Harley, Trans - LCMS 1901 Catechism

1. Luther, the Book of Concord, Chemnitz, Gerhard, Calov, and Quenstedt taught Justification by Faith.
2. The crepidations of UOJ came from the Pietist era - or Error - and such confused teachers as Rambach, Quistorp, Bishop Martin Stephan, CFW  Walther and his devoted disciples.
3. The Scriptures teach Justification by Faith, so the New NIV - loved by WELS especially - introduced an "all" to Romans 3, so they could read "all are justified" in their Synagogues of Satan.

Luther did not organize another church - Rome kicked him out. His approach was to teach the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit do its work - and the Spirit did just that.

Below is a graphic that has been viewed about 110,000 times. The words of Luther certainly apply when considering this doctrine - The Chief Article of the Christian Religion.

Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again

Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again;
The eternal years of God are hers;
But error, wounded, writhes with pain,
And dies among his worshippers.

William C. Bryant - The Battlefield

Pope John the Malefactor’s Message - Deny the Chief Article and Promote Justification without Faith - To Honor the Reformation

Pope John is not apt to teach, like his partners in ELCA, LCMS, and WELS.

Pope John the Malefactor’s Message:



"How can we do justice to celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation? This question is before us as we gather for our synod’s 100th annual convention. It is a question our congregations are asking as they arrange their area worship services this coming October. When our synod’s Centennial Committee looked at appropriate ways to honor back-to-back anniversaries (the 500th now and in 2018 the ELS 100th), it felt a significant way to wed the two was to implement a synod-wide Bible study. We are happy to say the project has come to fruition and is ready to be rolled out in our congregations this coming fall. The Bible study, Proclaiming God’s Truth, has been authored by members of our synod’s Doctrine Committee. The study includes a teacher’s guide and covers seven topics central to Lutheranism and to the history of our church body. The doctrines treated in the study are these: Objective Justification and Absolution, The Election of Grace and Conversion, The Divine Call, Church Fellowship, Adiaphora and Ceremonies, Mission Work, and Christian Education. "

 This is a reminder of the Chief Article's meaning,
which WELS/ELS considers false doctrine.

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2018 Bethany Lutheran Seminary Commencement

 Only two graduates?
And only two faculty members?
Honey we shrunk the seminary too!

2018 Bethany Lutheran Seminary Commencement:


"2018 Commencement
By BLTS on April 17, 2018

The seminary commencement service will be held on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. in Trinity Chapel. The Rev. David Thompson will be the preacher, President Gaylin Schmeling will serve as liturgist, and the Rev. Herbert Huhnerkoch will represent the Board of Regents. The following will graduate from the seminary with a Master of Divinity degree: Noah Thompson and Christian Walz.

Following the commencement service, there will be a reception in Honsey Hall honoring the graduates and Dr. Michael Smith for his 16 years of faithful service at Bethany Seminary."


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