Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Justification Book, First Installment":
Pastor GJ or Brett, can you explain this example of justification that a WELS pastor has used many times:
"The supermarket is giving away free turkeys for everyone. However, you have to go to(drive or walk) the supermarket to receive the turkey".
I know that their are others in the WELS that understand this as the proper teaching. Correct me if I am wrong, but I read Luther's works all the time and I just do not see how the example is fully orthodox.
In Christ,
from WELS chuch lady
***
GJ - "All analogies limp," as Gawa taught us at Mequon. This analogy stumbles and falls. The comparison is very J. P. Meyer-ish. Synergism (Reformed doctrine ) is exemplified by "God has done this, so you must do that." Some Reformed teachers say, "You must complete the transaction." What is the Means of Poultry in this example?
The Word of God teaches that God conveys Christ to us through the Holy Spirit working in the Means of Grace (the invisible Word of preaching and teaching, the visible Word of Baptism and Holy Communion) - to plant faith in our hearts and to nurture that faith. WELS is thoroughly Pietistic, so many are in the dark about the Means of Grace.
---
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Another Hoo-Hah from UOJ":
What is so difficult about justification that MLC and Mequon graduates do not get it? I fail to see how they can go on and on about UOJ, and then get it wrong. Is the quality of the instructors, the students, what?
***
GJ - One little window in their souls was provided in the October issue of FIC. Bivens, one of several Shrinkers published in that issue, was denouncing sodomy while MLC students were posting their version of the gay video from Fire Island Pines - and defending their version!
Bivens:
"Look at the passages
Genesis 19:5-8 and Jude 7 confirm that the Sodomites were guilty of homosexuality. Both references, in their original Hebrew and Greek, use idiomatic language to identify and describe homosexual sin, and it pays to be aware of this. Those who deny that homosexuality was involved seek linguistic loopholes from the idiomatic language. Nevertheless, biblical language dictionaries confirm that homosexuality prevailed in Sodom and its surrounding towns.
Ezekiel 16:49,50 does not explicitly mention sodomy or homosexuality as the cause of divine judgment on these lost cities but tells us that they were guilty of additional immoralities. Arrogance and social injustice are highlighted. Second Peter 2:6,7 leaves the nature of their ungodliness unspecified.
Letting all of these passages speak leads us to conclude that Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of homosexuality; arrogance; violence; inhospitality; and a self-centered apathy toward others, especially the poor and needy. These cities impenitently spurned God’s grace in a number of ways and invited divine judgment.
People who have already made up their minds that homosexuality is morally acceptable desire to understand the biblical testimony differently. Invariably, modern defenders of homosexuality conclude that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their violent and greedy behavior. They interpret Genesis 19 as condemning homosexual rape, which would be parallel to heterosexual rape. These texts are said not to apply to consensual homosexual activities. These defenders say that “loving, committed, same-sex relationships” are approved.
Advocates of homosexuality also say that Jude’s words “strange flesh” (the idiomatic expression he uses in the King James Version for sexual perversion) refer not to homosexuality but to the desire to have sexual relations with angels. It takes some exegetical mind-bending to arrive at this conclusion, but powerful presuppositions are able to pave the way for these advocates.
Look for balanced conclusions
You ask if God’s severe judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah teaches us that homosexuality is a worse sin than others and perhaps qualifies as unforgivable. Here is where other Bible sections guide us to a balanced conclusion. In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus denounces other cities for being unrepentant despite the miracles he performed among them. While he does not excuse or deny the guilt of Sodom, he makes it clear that others may sin even more grievously and pay a greater price on the Last Day. First Corinthians 6:9-11 confirms that homosexuality is a serious sin that calls for divine judgment, but it also affirms that it is fully forgivable and that many former homosexuals enjoy new life and heavenly citizenship through faith in Christ. In Romans 1:21-27, Paul uses homosexuality as an example of how God may deal with hardened sinners and use sexual perversions as a judgment. But other passages remind us that homosexuality, like other sin, is forgivable despite deserving God’s anger and punishment.
For a balanced biblical perspective on this important subject, I hope that all interested readers will take the time to examine the Bible sections mentioned above and walk away with a renewed appreciation of the seriousness of all sin and the greatness of God’s love in Christ.
Contributing editor Forrest Bivens, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Calvary, Thiensville.
Author:
Forrest L. Bivens
Subscribe to FIC
This monthly magazine, sent to almost 50,000 subscribers, addresses important issues facing Christians today.
Order online
Search the Archive
Begin by entering a topic. Then press "GO".
"
