The morons who promote Universal Objective Justification want us to believe that their dogma is the Chief Article of the Christian Faith, the master and prince of all other articles.
This statement, from "The Righteousness of Faith" in the Formula of Concord, simply destroys the entire UOJ argument. The UOJ Hive has to buzz about various people so they can ignore the real issue, their colossal ignorance or vapid atheism. Experience with these thugs has taught me that vapid atheism is the better answer.
They behave the same way on the ALPB Online Forum as they do on SpenerQuest. My neighbor has four pit-bulls in a yard with a very high fence. However some boards are missing so they can peer out through the chain link fencing, and I can look in. Every so often three start attacking one, even though they are all one tribe. The pack makes a terrible racket as the bottom one howls and screams, the top three bark and bite. They remind me of those forums where the clergy and a few brain-bleached laity exchange insults in spite of their obvious agreement about unfaith and universal forgiveness.
In contrast, Luther and the Concordists - in the graphic above - are saying that the sermon is everything.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit's work in the Church is to convict the world of its sin:
Not the sin of individual communion glasses.
Not the sin of polity
Not even the sin of Thrivent.
John 16:8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me...
The foundational sin is unbelief, so the foundation of all Christian ministry must be justification by faith.
Any pastor or lay leader will admit how easy it is to fall into Law preaching and Law solutions. I listen to various Lutherans and scattered denominations deliver their best, and their best is full of secular suggestions, must have's, and scoldings. If scolding worked, we would all be almost perfect by now. No generation has been scolded and hectored more than this one, on an infinite number of manifest short-comings, from failure to recycle to thinking Holy Mother Synod is them. ["No - WEEEE are the Synod!" says the synodical bureaucrat, who will break your kneecaps for questioning him.]
Luther himself saw the ministry as the Preaching Office - Predigtamt. A pastor's sole duty consists of preaching the Gospel of justification by faith from the pulpit, in the classroom, and in regular visits to his members and others. He does not have the Calming Office, the Office of Balancing the Budget, or the Office of the Really Busy Parish.
