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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Quotes of C.F.W. Walther on Doctrine of Justification (Part 1)

In my previous post, I prefaced the ensuing quotes of Walther with the reason why they are so important.
In 1874 and 1875, there were meetings of the Western District of the Missouri Synod at which Walther presented a continuing series of theses entitled The Doctrine of the Lutheran Church Alone Gives All Glory to God, an Irrefutable Proof That Its Doctrine Alone Is True. An English translation was published by Concordia Publishing House in 1981 under the book titled Selected Writings of C.F.W. Walther - Convention Essays. (Aug. R. Suelflow, Translator)
These quotes are a matter of spiritual life and death for me.  I had to know about the following topics, and here is the order I put them in:
  1. Justification
  2. Importance of this doctrine
  3. Universalism?
  4. Universal will of Grace? - or is it just a misunderstanding that God wants all men saved?
  5. By Faith alone, only by Faith
  6. Universal Redemption
  7. Faith is Not... - are there limits to what faith is?
  8. Faith Is... - so what exactly is Faith?
  9. Faith - justified apart from... 
  10. Faith - Believe
  11. Good Works
  12. Contradiction?
  13. Election
  14. Feelings
  15. Means of Grace
  16. Certainty
  17. Resurrection
  18. Satiation
  19. If...
  20. Counseling
On my first topic of interest, I pulled out the following:
1. Justification
page 105: It is said that man must also do something in justification, namely believe.  Under such circumstances justification is not attributed solely to God.  But that means nothing else than robbing God of part of His honor and ascribing it to man.  Then it would not be God alone who saves us, but we would work together.  Only those who cannot distinguish sharply between condition and means can conceive such a thought.  A condition demands a performance on the part of the person who is to receive something.  For example: “I’ll give you the horse with the condition that you pay me so much for it.”  With the meeting of the condition the other promises performance in return.  Faith would then be an accomplishment on our part for which God would give us salvation in return.  But this is false.
page 105: We are not reconciled to God when we believe, but we are already redeemed, are already reconciled to God, so that we believe.  This is also true regarding justification.  The whole world is already justified in Christ.  Faith is not the condition under which we are justified but the way and means by which we become partakers of the justification which God has long ago given us.  As we read in Scripture, God gave His Son to the world.  He did not merely grant the world permission to appropriate His Son; but rather (as we read in John 3:16) He gave Him to  us that we should believe in Him, and not only when we believe.
page 105-106: The old fathers spoke of two means for the attainment of justification, the giving means, namely Word and sacrament, and the receiving means, namely faith.  If a means for giving is present, then the gift must already be at hand  Thus it is also with justification.  It is already there.  The question is only how God desires to give it.
page 106: So the entire world was justified by the resurrection of Christ, which man must now accept by faith.
page 108: If we wish to make very clear to people how faith is related to justification, these two expressions [instument and hand] are best suited to achieve this.  It is very necessary that one understand this point clearly; only then will we teach justification properly.  As much as all Christian groups speak of faith, only a minority have a correct conception of faith and how it justifies.  . ... But, faith is only an accepting; that it changes people is only its fruit.
page 108: Forgiveness has been wrought also for the unrepentant.  Only their unbelief keeps justification from being effective in their case.
page 108: Justification is not something that occurs in our heart, but it occurs in God.  Sanctification occurs in us. Justification is a judicial act of God, in which He absolves the sinner from guilt and punishment and declares him justified.
page 109: And since God Himself works faith, it cannot be the cause nor the condition but only the means of justification.
page 109: Yes, the whole work of redemption would thereby be drawn into doubt.  But, thanks be to God, our justification is already accomplished.
page 109: The real reason for our justification is Christ.
page 109: If justification depended on the perfection of our faith, then we would all be lost.
2. Importance of this doctrine
page 87-88: At this juncture the convention observed that in most sermons the newer preachers tended to seriously neglect the doctrine of salvation.  [Walther continues:]  Yes, there are not a few Lutherans who think that doctrine should be treated very lightly lest the hearers become too secure.  Rather they feel one ought to stress conversion.  But how and by what manner did the Reformation of the church come into being?  How are people converted?  Precisely in this, that they let God have the honor which He has reserved for Himself in the work of salvation, that one truly believes this salvation with all his heart, and takes pleasure in it.  Anything else is no conversion.  ...that occurs alone through faith.  .... There is no teaching so worthy of being diligently and thoroughly studied, so worthy of having the preacher present it enthusiastically and graciously, as the doctrine of the redemption of the entire world through Christ. ....
Where this teaching is not preached in all its purity, there God is wretchedly despised; and conversely, where this gem is brought to light in all its brilliance, there God alone is given all glory.
page 108: If we wish to make very clear to people how faith is related to justification, these two expressions are best suited to achieve this.  It is very necessary that one understand this point clearly; only then will we teach justification properly.  As much as all Christian groups speak of faith, only a minority have a correct conception of faith and how it justifies.  . ... But, faith is only an accepting; that it changes people is only its fruit.  Whenever one accepts, fruits will follow -- such as a different will, a different understanding.
page 108: The question whether the expression “we are justified or blessed under the condition that we have faith” has no foundation, was answered: if one is speaking of the necessity of faith one might use this expression, but not without previously having forestalled any misunderstanding.  [see my letter to Prof. E.F. Klug]
page 110: This doctrine is vitally important, because if faith is made a condition for salvation, then one ascribes to man the ability to produce faith.  This is the error of the Methodists and other sects,...
In my next post, I'll continue with Walther quotes on Universalism, etc.

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