Brett Meyer on Steadfast Lutherans

T. R. Halvorson :@Rev. Paul Rydecki #43 
Rev. Rydecki, I admit not having read the whole thread, so if this was already discussed, please bear with me.
I am interested in every thing I can find out about the exegesis of 1 John 2:2, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
Do you think this text has a bearing on the question being discussed in this thread?

Pr. Jim Schulz :
It has been stated that nobody is claiming that a man is justified without faith or that no one is teaching Objective Justification separate from Subjective Justification.
Am I missing something here? It seems to me this theologian did, even in the title of his paper:
“The Primary Doctrine in Its Primary Setting: Objective Justification and Lutheran Worship”
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BivensPrimary.pdf

Elizabeth :
But that is not the whole verse, Jais.

Elizabeth :
Surely it should be read in context.

Elizabeth :
No faith, no justification:

Pr. Jim Schulz :
Sven, I did read the paper. The author is clear: “If justification is universal, it must also be objective – sinners are forgiven whether they believe it or not.” p.2.
Since “sinners are forgiven whether they believe it or not,” the author doesn’t emphasize Word and Sacrament which deliver “forgiveness, life, and salvation” (Small Catechism). Rather, according to the author, the emphasis of Lutheran worship is effective communication: “The task of communicating the gospel message accurately and adequately will remain one of utmost importance” (p.5) because “Our gracious God has justified every individual person…. God’s will and our desire is that each person be brought to understand and embrace this truth” (p.7).
“Subjective Justification” shows up only in a footnote in this paper (p.2).
This is an example of what can happen when Objective Justification and Subjective Justification are treated as two separate doctrines rather than two aspects of the one doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Pr. Jim Schulz :
Sven, the author of “The Primary Doctrine in Its Primary Setting: Objective Justification and Lutheran Worship” makes the mistake of speaking of faith as something of man and not of God:
“Justification is ‘on account of Christ’ and his substitutionary life and death for mankind, not because of our faith or anything else in us.” (p.2)

T. R. Halvorson :@Brett Meyer #6 Thanks for your polite and substantive reply.
While I do understand the principles of Scripture interpreting Scripture, taking the whole counsel, reading passages together, and so on, a problem remains for me in the use made of Romans 3:23-26 to condition 1 John 2:2.
It makes surplusage and superfluity of the words, “not for ours only but also for the whole world.” With the interpretation you are making, what is left of that clause? How is Jesus the propitiation for the sins of believers, and also everyone else in the world, by the interpretation you are making? In other words, can we let the Romans text erase words from the 1 John text?

Should, for instance, anyone deny the universality of Christ’s redemption, negating with Calvin the Scripture truth that Christ has redeemed all mankind and that in the Gospel God seriously offers to all men His grace without any discrimination, then he subverts the doctrine of justification. If that error is maintained, then the individual sinner cannot become personally sure of his salvation unless he receives an extraordinary, immediate revelation to that effect. Again, should anyone teach that Christ has indeed redeemed all men, but not completely, in other words, that Christ has indeed made forgiveness of sins possible for all men, but that this forgiveness of sins or justification does not yet actually exist for every sinner, then he makes faith and conversion a meritorious cause of the forgiveness of sins and invalidates the doctrine of justification by grace for Christ’s sake. Or, should anyone pervert the doctrine of the means of grace by denying that God offers the sinner His grace in Word and Sacrament so that the sinner must seek grace in Word and Sacrament, then he bids the sinner seek grace in his own subjective condition, in conversion and regeneration, and so in his own good works. Finally, should anyone pervert the doctrine of faith by denying that faith is essentially trust in the grace offered in the Gospel and by identifying faith with the feeling of grace, then he will put in place of divine grace the condition of the human heart as the basis of justification and salvation. Or should anyone teach wrongly concerning faith by ascribing the creation of faith to human co-operation or to man’s good conduct, then again he surrenders the Scriptural doctrine of justification despite the fact that he may use the expressions “by faith alone” or “by grace for Christ’s sake.” This subject seems to us so very important that we shall develop more fully the three points on the basis of many statements made by Walther. To keep the doctrine of justification pure, we must hold the

True Biblical Doctrine of the Perfect Redemption of All Men by Christ

In order to present the perfect redemption of all men by Christ in its full clarity, Walther is concerned to insist that there exists for every person grace, righteousness, and salvation even before faith is engendered, that every sinner is righteous before God, even before he believes, so far as this righteousness has been procured and God has purposed to bestow it (SCR, p.68), that is to say, according to God’s declaration which He pronounced upon all men by raising Christ from the dead (SCR, p. 31). “It is a righteousness not merely made possible [for all men], but one that is already procured or effected” (SCR, p.61). It was of great concern to Walther to repudiate the view that a person by his faith or by his conversion must first render God perfectly favorable or that he must first complete his redemption and righteousness. True, a person, to be saved, must first be converted, but his conversion is not the cause why God saves him, but merely the way by which he comes to that faith which does nothing but accept the perfect redemption which already has been achieved for him. (SCR, p. 34.) The enthusiasts hold the view that Christ has effected what Scripture calls redemption in order that God may now receive sinners into heaven because of their conversion. They do not believe that Christ has accomplished absolutely everything that had to be done in order that God could save us by granting us everlasting life. They imagine that to be saved something still remains for a person to do and that this something is his conversion. Scripture, however, teaches that Christ has done everything. He has already secured for all men reconciliation with God, together with righteousness and all other gifts of salvation. These blessings are already perfectly prepared and are imparted in the holy Christian Church through the Gospel. So there remains nothing that man can do but to accept salvation. It is this truth that we mean to emphasize when we speak of a perfect redemption. It is not true that man already has contributed something and that God adds what is still lacking. Nor is it true that God already has done something and that man completes what is wanting. But the truth is that God alone has already accomplished everything. (SCR, p. 34.)

This doctrine, as Walther declares again and again, is the one that characterizes the Christian religion and distinguishes it from paganism, so that whoever denies this doctrine denies also the whole Christian religion. Walther writes: “Also the heathen believed that they must secure grace and the forgiveness of their sins, but they have never known that forgiveness of sins has already been procured by another and that it already exists.” In another place he declares:

“While all religions, except the Christian, teach that man himself must do that by which he is delivered and saved, the Christian religion teaches not merely that all men should be eternally saved but also that they already have been saved. According to the Christian faith, man is already redeemed. He is already delivered and freed from his sin and all its evil consequences. He is already reconciled unto God. The Christian religion proclaims: “You need not redeem yourself nor secure reconciliation between God and yourself, for all this Christ has already accomplished for you. Nor has He left anything for you to do but to believe this, i.e., to accept it!” Here indeed is the point of distinction between Christianity and all other religions. The Jews say: “If you want to be saved, you must keep the Law of Moses.” The Turks say: “If you want to be saved, you must follow the Koran.” The Papists say: “If you want to be saved, you must do good works, repent of your sins, and make satisfaction for them; and if you want to climb especially high, you must enter a monastery.” Similarly, all sects that pervert the Christian religion impose something on man which he must do to make himself righteous and thus save himself. The Lutheran Church, on the other hand, tells man: “Everything is already accomplished. You have been redeemed. You have been justified before God. You are already saved. You need not do a thing to redeem yourself, to reconcile God, and to earn salvation. All you are asked to do is to believe that Christ, the Son of God, has already done all this for you. Believe this, and you actually are in possession of salvation. You will surely be saved.” (RWD, 1874, p. 43.)

As Walther shows, the very concept of faith demands that we regard grace, redemption, righteousness, and salvation as already existing. He who denies this fact must also deny that man is justified and saved by faith. Walther says that if we are to be saved by believing that we are redeemed, reconciled to God, and in possession of pardon, then all these gifts must exist already before we believe. Now, as surely as the Word of God tells us that we are to be justified by faith, be reconciled to God and saved, so surely all these blessings must exist before we believe; they are only waiting for us to be accepted. The fact that a person is saved by faith alone is possible only for the reason that everything that is necessary to salvation has already been accomplished and exists so that all we need to do is take it. This taking Scripture calls believing. Since God receives into heaven all who believe, righteousness and reconciliation must already have been procured and made ready. All those who do not teach that reconciliation and righteousness exist already prior to faith do not regard faith as the mere hand which receives what has been procured by Christ. They rather regard it as a work by which man co-operates toward his redemption and justification as a condition which he must fulfill and because of which God receives him into heaven. (SCR, p.35.)