Friday, March 31, 2023

What If I Told You? - "Your Synodical Leaders Are Blasphemers!"

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Guilty as charged! - not enough room for the other blasphemers, so numerous, so pompous, so fallen from grace while talking "grace" all the time.

Your synodical leaders are blasphemers. 

As Luther has written - and these synodicals have published in their own Book of Concord without discernment - the people who quote the Word of God while teaching against its actual meaning are  blasphemers - 

"the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God." (Webster)
But, the greatest abuse occurs in spiritual matters, which pertain to the conscience, when false preachers rise up and offer their lying vanities as God’s Word.

Behold, all this is decorating one’s self with God’s name, or wishing to be fair and maintain our cause, whether it occur in gross, worldly business or in sublime, subtle matters of faith and doctrine. And among liars belong also blasphemers, not alone those who are very gross, well known to every one, who, without fear, disgrace God’s name (they be long not to our school, but to that of the hang man); but also those who publicly traduce the truth and God’s Word, and refer it to the devil. Jacobs' Book of Concord, Large Catechism, Second Commandment, p. 395, Lutheran Library.

I will point out one example, which is central to the dogma of the LCMS, WELS, ELS, and Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic). ELCA leaders also belong in the same group.

The key moment and document is the LCMS 1932 Brief Statement, lovingly published by the LCMS.

17. Of Justification

Holy Scripture sums up all its teachings regarding the love of God to the world of sinners, regarding the salvation wrought by Christ, and regarding faith in Christ as the only way to obtain salvation, in the article of justification. Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ, Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 4:25;

This is a terrible and blasphemous contradiction, and not by accident, because the part underlined is the heart and soul of ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC. One cannot harmonize Justification by Faith, written first in this section, with "God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ, Romans 5:19" and the other passages listed.

Let's start with Romans 4:25, because the synods above are so eager to turn this bright, clear passage of God's Word into the credo of Universalism - "everyone is already saved" or God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ" - which they often say, one way or another. Questioning the sanity or even the merit of this declaration invites terror, doom, and the Left Foot of Fellowship.

Romans 3

The first three chapters of Romans contain many Justification by Faith statements:

  • KJV Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
  • KJV Romans 3:21 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: [GJ - Note  "by faith of Jesus," cleverly removed by the Evil Four modern translations, RSV, NRSV, ESV, NIV.]
  • KJV Romans 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
  • KJV Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
Romans 4

The fourth chapter of Romans proclaims Abraham as the example of Justification by Faith, so strange to find the 1932 LCMS assembly missing that point entirely.




KJV Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Romans 4 - Justification by Faith

KJV Romans 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [GJ - Justification by Faith]

4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. [GJ - Justification by Faith]

6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. [GJ - Justification by Faith]

10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: [GJ - Justification by Faith, for the uncircumcised, as Abraham was, and for the circumcised.] 

12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. [GJ - Justification by Faith]

13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. [GJ - Justification by Faith]

14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, [GJ - Justification by Faith, that it might be by grace!]

17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. [GJ - Justification by Faith]

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: [GJ - Justification by Faith, the opposite of unbelief]

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; [GJ - Justification by Faith]

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. [GJ - Justification by Faith]

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;



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; [GJ - Justification by Faith]

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. [GJ - Justification by Faith, verses 24 and 25 go together, in the same way that Romans 4 is continued in Romans 5.]

Romans 4:25 is deceitfully separated and used in the Brief Statement and by many like Rolf Preus. The same cowardly, blasphemous deception is used when Romans 5:1-2 is skipped to invent the entire world being forgiven and saved without faith, yet that is not found in Romans 5 at all.  


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Part Two - Alleged Scripture Support for Objective (Faithless) Justification

"Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ, Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 4:25; that therefore not for the sake of their good works, but without the works of the Law, by grace, for Christ's sake, He justifies, that is, accounts as righteous, all those who believe, accept, and rely on, the fact that for Christ's sake their sins are forgiven." (LCMS Brief Statement, 1932)

In the first part I noted how fatuous the LCMS claim was - and is - that Romans 4:25 teaches Objective (Faithless) Justification when the complete sentence, Romans chapter 4 itself, and Romans teaches Justification by Faith. 

KJV Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

There is nothing faithless about this verse, unless one decides that "many" means "all" - a foolish and lame strategy promoted by WELS and other sectarians. That is a foolish gesture on their part, because "all" puts them in the category of Universalism - all are saved - and ELCA, their ministry partner.

Word and Witness Audio Tape - GRACE!

The Lutheran Church in America had a Word and Witness program designed to be a modernized version of another one. They offered audio tapes too - remember them - and one defined the LCA quite well. The narrator said with venomous anger in his voice, "The media evangelists have one great problem in their work. They have no concept of GRACE!" He meant that forgiveness from Christ could not be connected to faith, because "all forgiven" meant "all received by grace, without faith."

Various toxic dogmas have erased the Means of Grace from the thoughts of modernistic, paganistic Lutherans. Simply put, the Word is invisible  - teaching and preaching - and also visible - Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. The term "means" is also taught as "instruments." The Gospel Word is the instrument by which faith in Christ is planted in our hearts and strengthened in our worship and studies. Because the Holy Spirit always works with the Word and never apart from the Word, we know that no one can legitimately make claims which are not found or proclaimed in the Scriptures.

KJV 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

KJV 2 Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The Objective (Faithless) Justification fanatics do not use the above quotation with the pivotal Romans passage which summarizes chapter 4. Romans 5:1-2 is really a summary of Romans 4, as shown by the transition - therefore -

KJV Romans 5:1 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.

Paul does not mean or even imply that Christ taking on the sins of the world equals the entire world being forgiven and saved (even back to Adam) as a result. Yet the chowder-heads of Church Growth, Objective (Faithless) Justification, and other maladies demand that their slogans be accepted as Biblical truths. 

Often added to this group of citations is 1 Timothy 3:16, an unlikely candidate but still enrolled in the cavalcade of Biblical blunders.

KJV 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: 

  1. God was manifest in the flesh, 
  2. justified in the Spirit, 
  3. seen of angels, 
  4. preached unto the Gentiles, 
  5. believed on in the world, 
  6. received up into glory.

The Pietists, who tried and failed to blend Lutheran doctrine with Calvinism, used "justified in the Spirit" as the world being absolved of sin the moment Christ rose from the grave. But the justification of Jesus Christ was different from Justification by Faith by mortal men. The resurrection of the Son of God proved He had committed no sin, because death is the mark of Adam. Turning the resurrection into world absolution may be marvelous remedy for the Law-oriented ELCA Enthusiasts and the Walther worshiping Midwestern Pietists, but the inerrant Word does not allow Universalist carpet-baggers.


Blasphemy - Part Three

 

 Bishop Martin Stephan, STD and Bishop Randy DeJaynes, LCA



Even the most dense can agree that ELCA is the fool's gold standard of Lutherdom today. That  merger of mergers has gathered the LCMS-WELS-ELS under his/her/its wings and laid down the rules for enjoying Thrivent money and programs.

ELCA is the bellweather in declaring that everyone is born forgiven because of God's grace. That comes from two sources - the Pietists and the rationalists.






Rambach was the Halle University hymn writer (see The Lutheran Hymnal, #298) who wrote these words, treasured by Jay Webber, among others. Stephan studied at Halle and was a Pietist.

Walther was a Pietist and his friends followed one Pietist guru, then Stephan after their earlier leader moved away and died. Walther was thrilled with the letter Stephan wrote him and never drifted from that dogma. After losing their earlier guru, they followed Stephan all the way to America, after he was convicted of consorting with young women and misuse of church funds.

Later, Walther was thrilled with the double justification terms used by the Calvinist translator of Knapp, another Halle University theologian, one much admired in America and translated into English, a standard work for over 90 years.

The Reformed-Lutheran union movement enjoyed the peaceful physical and doctrinal merger of the two schools of thought. The Woods translation fostered the use of Objective Justification and Subjective Justification, with OJ dominating.


Rationalism, born at Halle and other places, gravitated toward God's grace acting without means (Word and Sacrament) and saving the entire world back to Adam and Eve.

Johann Wilhelm Baier was born in 1647 and died in 1695. He taught at Halle University, the mother ship of Pietism, a fact never mentioned when people say "Oh! Baier! Walther edited him!"

Justification/Atonement - Fourth Part of the Blasphemy Essay

Bishop Martin Stephan's pimp, CFW Walther, began forging the dogmatics leg irons of Missouri with his edition of Wilhelm Baier, a 17th century Pietist dogmatician at Halle University. Baier is now largely forgotten, or ignored, or forgotten-yet-praised because he was blessed by the Great Walther Himself and Francis Pieper Himself. 

Halle's Pietism soon turned into rationalism, the branch now highly praised by ELCA Biblical scholars and CPH (see the elaborate pratfall of their two volume Gospel of Mark commentary).



The Halle gang is protected by the Pietistic and the Rationalistic strands of Lutheran apostasy and blasphemy. Just to be polite - the doctrinal foundation of Walther and Pieper was not the Lutheran Reformation but the Halle Deformation. That is why Jay Webber so gleefully embraces the Pietist Quistorp to prop up his Objective Justification errors. And yes, Walther also liked and quoted Quistorp.

1Johann Quistorp; quoted in C. F. W. Walther, Justification: Subjective and Objective (translated by Kurt E. Marquart) (Fort Wayne, Indiana: Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 1982), p. 21. 3. Cited by Jay Webber.

Lutheran dogmatics are best summarized by their reactions against the constant yowling pack of Calvinists, who were always trying to pick apart Luther, Melanchthon, Chemnitz, and Gerhard (not to be confused with the hymn writer Gerhardt).




Just to be concise and not turn into another batch of verbose dogmatics experts, faithful Lutherans can summarize the error of the Objective Justification fanatics as merging Justification by Faith with the Atonement.

Traditional Lutherans believe in Justification by Faith because they have not been brain-damaged by repeat-after-me graduates and professors of Mordor, Ft. Wayne, St. Louis, and the Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie. The OJ cancer is deeply troubled by the Chief Article, because faith is necessarily individual, not universal. 



Heirs of Knapp-Woods confused people into thinking that the entire world was absolved of all sin - that believing this nonsense was Subjective Justification - two justifications without faith! Walther taught making a decision for Objective Justification was just perfect.

The poorly educated leaders of the synods think they can paste sticky notes all through the Bible - OJ and SJ. "For God so loved the world (OJ!) that He gave His only Son (OJ again!) so that whosoever believed (SJ!) in Him might not perish (OJ!) but have everlasting life."



Their idea of salvation is exactly the same, with a minor concession from LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC side - an individual must make a decision, agreeing that everyone is already forgiven and saved without faith. 



ELCA has reached the obvious conclusion of apostasy - grace means everyone is forgiven and saved, without faith. They say, twisting Romans 4, that it is either grace or faith, and faith is Law.

The whole stack of Lutheran leaders has united around Thrivent loot and quasi-Unitarian dogma - social activism as necessary, faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God, not.

Our work is done. All accept the forgiveness of salvation of all people. Our members are fewer but the dogma is pure.

 

This is what you lust for - LCMS-ELCA-WELS-ELS-CLC.


This is what your synods abandoned and spat upon: The Lost Dutchman's Goldmine.


Part Five - Blasphemy

The Lutheran Leaders Are Lying about "Always Teaching Objective Justification" - Ha!

They are lying to you - Justification by Faith was taught in the early days of the synods (maybe not in the ELS), snuffed out after the Brief Statement, 1932, was canonized and gilded with fool's gold.

The Synodical Conference Small Catechism was edited by Carl Gausewitz, Wisconsin Synod, who died young was thrown under the bus. Try to finda copy now!

CFW Walther was a Pietist fanatic from the start, following one Pietist guru and then becoming a disciple under Pastor Martin Stephan, after the first Pietist guru died. Walther always taught the entire world being forgiven and saved without faith. We can see in the Concordia Publishing House catechism booklets that Justification by Faith was taught in the KJV version of the catechism and also in the Synodical Conference catechism of Gausewitz.

The Norwegian Pietist brothers, Jack and Robert Preus, followed the Objective Justification error, but Robert wrote his last book, Justification and Rome, destroying Objective Justification.