III. The Righteousness of Faith
6] This article concerning justification by faith (as the Apology says) is the chief article in the entire Christian doctrine, without which no poor conscience can have any firm consolation, or can truly know the riches of the grace of Christ, as Dr. Luther also has written: If this only article remains pure on the battlefield, the Christian Church also remains pure, and in goodly harmony and without any sects; but if it does not remain pure, it is not possible that any error or fanatical spirit can be resisted.
---
https://www.facebook.com/christiannewsmo?fref=nf
UNIVERSAL OBJECTIVE JUSTIFICATION
- OR -
THE RICHEST POOR PEOPLE WHO EVER LIVED!
- OR -
THE RICHEST POOR PEOPLE WHO EVER LIVED!
How is it possible for the wealthiest father in the world to legally bequeath his entire estate to his son, but his son remains poor? Easy! The son merely has to refuse what is his. Legally he is rich, but practically speaking he is poor. You could say he is the Richest Poor Person who ever lived.
And so it is with God our heavenly Father. He has bequeathed his entire estate to everyone through Jesus Christ our Lord. Practically speaking most refuse to believe it so, sadly, most remain poor. You could say, those who are lost and going to hell are the Richest Poor People who ever lived. Both are true at the same time.
Those who deny Universal Objective Justification are so locked up and logged jammed into legalistically thinking "either/or", they will not see the biblical truth of "both/and". Their Gospel then becomes one of, "I believe that if I believe then I'll be saved", rather than, "God has saved me! My faith is created by that powerful and unconditional Word.”
In conclusion, those who deny Universal Objective Justification falsely assume it is impossible for God to declare the world forgiven and at the same time condemn those who "refuse" it. But that is precisely what God does. Jesus proves this at the cross when He prays, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). God honored that prayer because the Son only prays that which the Father wills (John 14:10). And, at the same time, those who "refuse" to believe in God's reconciliation for the whole world (2 Cor. 5:19) are, indeed, lost (John 3:18). Both are true at the same time. Those who deny this Biblical “both/and" are letting reason run roughshod over Scripture and are, in effect, losing the pure Gospel.
Pastor Steven Flo
Grace
DeSoto, MO
stevenlflo@gmail.com
“Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but—more frequently than not—struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God.”
—Martin Luther, Table Talks in 1569.
(Christian News, October 12, 2015)
—Martin Luther, Table Talks in 1569.
(Christian News, October 12, 2015)
***
GJ - I know Otten and Flo personally. They are both wedded to the UOJ taught by Martin Stephan to CFW Walther, but that is not the doctrine of the Bible or the Reformation.
WELS agrees with them and even makes UOJ the Chief Article, so black is white, and anti-Christian is Christianity.
“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.)
After quoting Luther so effectively in the very first paragraph, Bivens corrected Paul, Luther, Melanchthon, Chemnitz, and the rest thus –
What precisely is this “master and prince, lord, ruler and judge” over other doctrines? Justification is a declaratory act of God, in which he pronounces sinners righteous. 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. They have been reconciled to God; their status in his eyes has been changed from that of sinner to forgiven sinner for the sake of Jesus Christ. Since all this applies to all people, the term universal or general justification is used. In our circles an alternate term, objective justification, is also used. If justification is universal, it must also be objective - sinners are forgiven whether they believe it or not. This is precisely what Scripture teaches in Romans 3:23-24, when it says, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. “ All have sinned and all (sic) are justified freely by God’s grace. Ibid.
 |
| Bivens, like Valleskey, learned his Church Growth fanaticism at Mequon. |