AG7a: 1880 Pastoral Conference (Election vs Justification: no analogy; unspeakable damage)

      This continues from Part AG7 (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — This publication was not one of Walther's essays to the Western District, but was precipitated by some of them, specifically those on the Election of Grace. (See this blog post about the CPH translations on these "Pastoral Conferences".) It provides a rare look into the actual discussions within the Synod caused by some unrest among some members over Walther's biblical, confessional teaching. Because the opponents were learned men and knew the language of the Bible and the Confessions, they could present some persuasive arguments for the notion that there is something in man that caused God to elect certain ones to eternal life. But Walther remained firm in the biblical doctrine, and that is how one can come away from these discussions with an even firmer faith, if one throws away their own rationalizing ideas and remains with the Bible. Of particular interest is the discussion below on the relationship of Election to Justification.

Notable quotes:

1880 Chicago Pastoral Conference:

All quotes by Walther except where noted.

11 (54): (see here, on Confessionalism): "…for the Book of Concord must be interpreted by itself, just as Scripture must be explained by Scripture. … For whoever would say that we must interpret the Formula of Concord according to Scripture would be saying that the Formula of Concord cannot be trusted and must first be corrected according to Scripture."

20 (62): "Nor must we allow ourselves to be led away from the Formula of Concord by the arguments of later theologians, who are not heretics…"

39 (81): "Therefore faith is not to be introduced here as the cause; for that is the point, whether I can also be certain of my salvation."

44 (86): "This morning it was said that there is a similarity between justification and election. … To this I say: From this I can conclude nothing other than that Prof. Stellhorn has either no election of grace at all or a general election of grace."

46 (87): Walther explains UOJ to Prof. Stellhorn: Prof. Stellhorn: I must confess: Then I did not know what subjective justification is.  I always thought that subjective justification was a special judicial act of God.

Dr. Walther: Objective justification is nothing more than the acquisitio of justitia or the acquisition of righteousness, and the gift from God is also there. But what good is the gift if I do not take it?  Faith must be added to this.  When God says: Your sins are forgiven (and this is what God said to all people through the resurrection of Jesus Christ), everyone can see that this does not help me if I do not believe and accept it.  It is given to me, but if I do not grasp it, I do not have it.

47 (88 ): "I believe that there is no analogy to be sought here with justification.  For if I am saved by faith, God has already actually done what you say he has yet to do.  That cannot possibly be predestination." [No false analogy between Justification and Election of Grace.]

50 (91): "We are not talking here about a subjective judgment, but about a special judicial act of God in subjective justification.  I say that objective justification is just as much an act of God's judgment as subjective justification.  Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has pronounced a judicial verdict; but the world has not recognized it.  As soon as I accept the justification granted to me in faith, I have it.  I ask: How can this be called an election when it is taught that God foresaw that certain people would remain in the faith until the end, and now, having foreseen this, he has decided:  They shall be saved."

54 (94): "For if we do not agree on what election is, then it will be useless to discuss other matters."

55 (96): "Let us pray, let us sigh to God day and night, that he will not leave our dear brothers in their opposition to us; for we all stand on one foundation, praise God! but they believe we stand on a false one."

57 (97): "Now I ask: Does this definition not take away this consolation? If election by grace is nothing more than a judicial application of the way of salvation to the elect, then the consolation mentioned in §§ 46-47 [FC XI] is lost."

57 (98): "It is impossible for an elect person to be damned."

67 (106): ''we do not grasp the election of grace by faith, as we grasp righteousness by faith.  The righteousness of Christ belongs to the whole world and therefore we can and should grasp it by faith.  Election, however, does not concern the whole world, but extends only to the children of God."

67 (107): "As soon as you allow faith to be the cause on the part of man, you make it a work."

68 (107): "You do not want to admit in a childlike manner the testimonies of Holy Scripture, but want to insert faith to be able to explain the mystery of which God’s Word is silent."

73 (111): "Be careful not to confuse the general counsel of salvation with election. This is where understanding usually fails." ["Bill": "no theological sense whatsoever"]

74 (112): Walther on Andreae, Chemnitz, Kirchner and Selnecker; Andreae commits error

79 (116): Pieper: "One only has to start from the correct anthropological proposition, which our Formula of Concord also places in the middle, namely that man can do nothing for his salvation, but everything for his damnation."

80 (118): Pieper: "How will an elected one know that he has been redeemed if it is not told him: “All mankind has been redeemed”? How will he know that God is gracious to him if he does not hear that God earnestly desires to call everyone? Thus the universal way of salvation must be described if the way is to be described upon which the elect go."

82 (119): "God has revealed to us why people are not elect, despite the fact that God wants all people to be helped, despite the fact that the Good Shepherd calls all the world to himself. They just did not want to. That is the cause. But not so with election; there the cause lies only in God, not in man."

88 (124): Pieper: "The doctrine of the election of grace is an extremely delicate thing. You cannot get away with mere dogmatic formulas. The same man [Apostle Paul] who is certain of his election and salvation says in another respect, if he still has flesh in him: I must fight that I may not be rejected. … And I think that here we are struck by the observation of a difference, namely the difference between the Law and the Gospel. Whoever does not distinguish between Law and Gospel in this case will spoil all possible scriptural statements, both those dealing with certainty and those dealing with the admonition to fight. He who does not distinguish here between Law and Gospel stirs up a general mash of exhortations to certainty and fear; there is half fear, half certainty, i.e. no certainty at all."

92 (128): "If we agree on the doctrine of conversion, then our dispute over the doctrine of election of grace will soon be over." [Excellent Walther page]

93-94 (129): "Not only what man can do by virtue of free will [liberum arbitrium] is to be excluded here, but also what is worked by grace. They [17th century dogmaticians, "intuitu fidei" Gerhard, etc.] have not gone as far as our dear opponents. I beg you! If a Gerhard, a Quenstedt and others had received the definition of election by grace that has been presented to us, they would have thrown up their hands in disbelief."

95 (131): "Indeed, if I do not now believe that I am an elect person, then I do not consider God to be true."

100 (135): "How many ungodly preachers there are, and how many preachers of weak knowledge, who hold people so exceedingly short in consolation! Think of the Methodists, the Reformed, the United [Unirten]! Oh, how little comfort flows there, and yet we believe that people are saved there too."

"How many godless preachers are there and how many preachers of weak understanding, who cut comfort exceedingly short! Think of the Methodists, the Reformed, and the Unionists! How sparse the comfort flows there, and yet we believe that people are also saved there."

107 (141): Conference: "we will not tolerate anyone who is a member of our Synod writing against us in foreign journals." [As Jaroslav Pelikan did in a German paper in 1952.]

111 (144): On Pastor Allwardt: "the unspeakable damage that has been done to our Synod"

The following is the full text of my English translation:

Download DOCX file >> HERE <<; German text file >> HERE <<.

In the next blog post Part AG7b, we present the General Pastoral Conference from 1881.

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To view my discussion of a comment I received from "Bill" about 10 years ago against the doctrines of Universal and Objective Justification, and how it relates to Election of Grace, see the following:

AG3a: 1875: The Justification of the Sinner

      This continues from Part AG2b (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — We move on to the following year's 1875 Western District essay where Walther addresses his Thesis III, part 5, a continuation of his teaching on Justification. This is powerful teaching on what the Gospel actually is, and so is worthy of careful study by all who covet their souls salvation. If there is a writing that gives All Glory (AG) to God, this is it. — From pp. 19-40:

Notable Quotes:

20-21: "the doctrine of justification does not say that man is just, but that he is to become just."

21: "there is no sin that has not been atoned for, no matter how great it may be"

21: "but for us he [Christ] fulfilled the law perfectly"

21: "nor did he say: pray, struggle, wrestle until you realize that you have [Christ's righteousness].… if you think you have obtained it in this way, it is only a dream from which you will wake up in horror."

21: "So where do we find God's grace? Answer: In the Word of God and in the Holy Sacraments, nowhere else."

22: "This is what the sects [Reformed, enthusiasts] think. They say that man must do the main thing if he wants to be saved; if he struggles, strives, fights and prays enough…"

23: "if God accepts something from us in grace, which we give him out of gratitude for the grace we have received, God must first give it to us"

23: "But if you say: yes, I don't want to be Lutheran at all, then know that you are not Christian either, for Lutheranism is nothing other than Christianity."

23: "This: “Therefore we hold that a man is justified without the works of the law, through faith alone” [Rom. 3:28, Luther's Bible] is true Christianity, but it is also true Lutheranism."

23: "man was not to become righteous first, but God had already made him righteous when he created him."

24: God "also restores to man the righteousness which He had created for him in Adam, but which he lost in Adam"

24: "when the life-giving Word of God comes to us, we wake up, but most do not want to get up and therefore die again until they go to eternal death"

24: " It is true that Christians must also struggle, pray and fight, but not in order to obtain grace, but in order not to lose it again."

25: "Our Church, however, in the Augsburg Confession, in the Small Catechism, etc., takes this doctrine very seriously."

26: "For what good would it do us if we knew 

• that God is triune, 
• that Christ is God and man in one person, 
• that our flesh will one day be resurrected, 
• and had all the other glorious doctrines of faith, 

but did not have the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone, without merit of works?"

26: "Just read the songs of the blessed in heaven, as described in the Revelation of John. Do they perhaps praise something in themselves? No,…"

27: "The devil, reason, or other such friends say: 'Do this, do that, if you want to be saved'. But do not listen to those voices!"

28: "The Augsburg Confession excludes all personal merit. What, on the other hand, does the pope do? He curses those who hold to Christ's merit alone".

28: "It is also extremely important to keep this doctrine pure and clear…for the person under attack doubts whether he has grace with God and considers himself unworthy of it because of his sins"

29: "We are also blasphemed…we are called…people who only wage wars over words"

29: The tempted "find strong consolation precisely in the fact that “by grace alone” serves the glory of God"

29: Luther "shows how all false doctrine of justification is contrary to the first commandment"

29: "the Father's declaration before the whole world…that it is now righteous before Him, so that it may believe that it is redeemed and reconciled"

30: The believer "now also calls upon God in all earnestness for strength for sanctification"

30: "Those are greatly mistaken who think that we are opposed to earnest godliness"

30: "where the first commandment is established, the grace of God is established"

31: "Modern theology, too, teaches again the doctrine of works, and indeed the most refined, in that it presents faith as a work by which we acquire grace."

31: "According to them [Jesuits], therefore, faith and love justify." [The damnable word "and".]

32: "It is common to say that God justifies man, but on the condition of faith.…Only those who do not know how to distinguish clearly between condition and means can come up with such ideas."

32: "We are not reconciled with God when we believe, but we are already redeemed, already reconciled with God, so that we believe."

33: "The doctrine of justification can only be correctly understood if faith is presented merely as the hand, as the instrument, by which we appropriate the offered righteousness."

33: Easter: "when God raised his Son from the dead, he did not forgive his own sin, but that of all mankind"

Walther's great preaching of the Gospel:

33: "Thus the whole world has already been justified by the resurrection of Christ, which man must now appropriate for himself through faith." [Objective & Subjective Justification]

33: "Just as the Universalists teach that no man is lost, but that all are saved…The enthusiasts know very well that we do not teach this.…man must now accept what Christ has acquired, otherwise he does not have it, and otherwise God cannot save him either." [Lutherans are not Universalists.]

34: "the Bible the expression “if we believe, we will be saved” is never used in the sense that it indicates a condition."

35: Heerbrand (pic) on the "hand" of faith: "It is only the way of accepting the benefits offered and given through and for the sake of Christ…the hand is not called the condition, but the means and instrument"

35: "Forgiveness of sins is also acquired for the impenitent. It is only their unbelief that prevents justification from being put into effect for them."

36: "Justification is not something that happens in our hearts, but in God"

36: "When the little word “if” is used in Scripture, it is not always necessarily a conditional “if”, but often a syllogistic “if”, which serves to indicate the consequence." [We are saved "if" we believe.]

36: "God asks nothing of us, we are only supposed to take. And since God Himself works faith, it cannot be a cause or condition, but only a means of justification."

37: Carpzov: "It is inaccurate to call faith the instrumental cause of justification.…it is the instrument"

37: "we cannot accomplish anything, not even faith."

37: "Unbelief is the cause of damnation, but faith is not the cause of salvation."

39: "We therefore stand by what the Scripture says: 'This is the work of God, that you believe'. John 6:29"

39: "We will have nothing else to do for all eternity but to offer Him our thanksgiving that He has justified and saved us sinners by grace"

I loved reviewing this powerful essay again as Walther gives the poor sinner, like me, complete assurance in Christ. — In the next Part AG3b…

EC10: Hermeneutics; Justification; plus the Antichrist (Western 1868) (Hrm05)

     This continues from Part EC9 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — In this fifth of eight essays, Western District 1868, elucidating the Theses in Walther's True Visible Church book, he covers XVII—XVIII A. This essay covers two main topics: the Scriptures themselves and the Doctrine of Justification. — There is an added bonus of a Synod discussion of "a paper by one of its members" [not Walther] on the Doctrine of the Antichrist. But Walther's presence gives this discussion his stamp of approval. — 

Notable Quotes:

19: "groups that deny God's Word as God's Word are outside the church; such groups in which God's Word is still partially present are sects…the Lutheran Church says: "It is written"."

19: "Until the Reformation, no one … dared to say that one word… in Scripture was not inspired by the Holy Spirit, not even under the papacy."

20: "But for the Lord to say to the Jews: …"the Scriptures cannot be broken" [John 10:35] is worth more than the whole world."

20-21: "In the papacy, the Word of God … has been abolished…by equating tradition with Scripture" [also by Concordia Seminary Prof. Joel Biermann in a lecture to seminarians, see JB01]

21: "Everyone should judge his sermon by the golden scales of Holy Scripture and not engage in extemporizing".

21: "…those who do not accept the whole Word of God will not be able to hold on; for example, in matters of revolution, slavery, usury, where the whole world stands against us."

22: "one cannot fight with the modern theologians, because they do not recognize the Bible"

23: "Presbyterians are appalled by the newer theology in Germany and maintain that every word is inspired."

24: "The Lord calls the doctrine derived from the Scriptures "the Scriptures"."

29: "Nowhere in the Bible does it expressly say of Christ the Savior that He is my Savior. But it does say that He is the Savior of the world, …from which everyone can and should conclude: I also belong to the world, to all people; therefore He is also my Savior." [Universal Justification]

30: The Lutheran Church "makes the doctrine of…justification the foundation, core and star of all doctrine".

34: The sects "think of justification as something that happens first in the heart of man, whereas it is a quality in the heart of God." [Objective Justification.]

Paper on the Doctrine of the Antichrist:

35: Importance: "It must be remembered, however, that this doctrine is contained in the Scriptures, and that it speaks of it clearly and at length."

37: "…our theologians themselves Romanize much in doctrine and practice."

40: "but the pope is more dangerous than all of them." [all sects].

41: "…no Lutheran theologian could go to the Council of Trent, because they did not want to swear such an oath [of allegiance to the Pope]."

42: "the Reformation would not have been possible if the doctrine of justification had not been brought back to the fore, for without it the Antichrist… could not have been discovered."

44: "there are now Lutherans who, despite the clear teaching of Scripture and our confessions, do not want to consider the Pope to be the Antichrist… [we consider] them not to be Lutherans in this respect." [LCMS?]

46: "Every Christian is obliged by God's clear Word to recognize, hate and fight the pope as the revealed Antichrist."

In the following, underlining follows Walther's emphasis, which is sometimes missing in the 1992 CPH translation. Paragraph breaks follow the 1992 translation, many hyperlinks added:

Web version here; downloaded >> here <<; German text >> here <<.

In the next Part EC11…

Walther on: Heshusius, Justification; "pure doctrine… most lacking in Protestant sects" (Der Lutheraner 1876) (Part 1 of 2)

     Tilemann Heshusius (Red Brick Parsonage bio; books), an early Lutheran theologian, was written about in the 1876 Der Lutheraner, in an announcement of a republished Missouri Synod book of his, Ten Sermons on the Justification of the Sinner Before God (Zehn Predigten von der Rechtfertigung des Sünders vor Gott, WorldCat).  What made it of special importance was that C.F.W. Walther wrote the notice and review, and so we hear a truly orthodox commentary. 

      One of the most common things I hear from correspondents is that they think some erring parties, including LC-MS Lutherans, do not err in the fundamental Doctrine of Justification but only in certain other doctrines.  But Walther answers this with the resounding rebuttal “It is precisely the pure doctrine of justification that is most lacking in all the so-called Protestant sects.” Walther knew that Heshusius, in his Preface, teaches the same thing when he wrote

"When this principal point is darkened or adulterated, various seductions and errors must follow in other doctrines also and it is difficult for any article of Christian faith to remain pure; or if anything is ever left unadulterated, it is still without all use and power, because the above-mentioned principal source is blocked by false teaching."

This refutes those that think that the Reformed sects only err on the sacraments, but are right in the pure doctrine of Justification.  This refutes those who think that the LC-MS does not err in the Doctrine of Justification, but only in other secondary doctrines, e. g. Church Fellowship.  No, it is because they first err on Justification that they err on the Sacraments, or on the Person of Christ, or on the doctrine of the Antichrist, or on Church Fellowship, etc. — The following book announcement and review of Walther is from Der Lutheraner vol. 32 (1876), p. 72, col. 1, [EN]:

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Ten Sermons on the Justification of the Sinner Before God. By Dr. Tilemann Heshusius. (Reprinted unchanged from the 1563 edition.) St. Louis, Mo., and Leipzig. 1876. 

This book has just been published. It belongs to the many pearls from earlier times, which are worth being brought out of the dust of the past. As the title says, it deals with the central doctrine of our holy Christian faith, with which, as our ancients rightly said, the church stands and falls. Many people now think that even if the various so-called Protestant parties disagree in some important doctrines, they are all united in this main doctrine, the doctrine of justification, and even if there is now often a lack of thorough knowledge of many doctrines among the faithful, no believer lacks knowledge of the doctrine of justification. But this is a serious error. It is precisely the pure doctrine of justification that is most lacking in all the so-called Protestant sects. If they were pure in this doctrine, they would and should have to abandon their other errors as well; for, as Luther so often testifies: “In this article hangs and stands everything, and shows all the others with it, and everything is to be done for this one, so that whoever errs in the others is certainly not right in this one either, and even if he holds the others and does not have this one, it is still all in vain. Again, this article also has the grace, where one perseveres in it with diligence and earnestness, that it does not fall into heresy.” (Tom. VIII, p. 504.) But it is equally erroneous when so many now think that they know at least the doctrine of justification so well that they hardly need further instruction on this point. Just the opposite is the truth. There is no doctrine of the entire Christian religion that a Christian learns less than this one, and anyone who claims to have already learned it proves that he has hardly made a start in this knowledge. The greatest scholars of God have always said that they must remain students of this doctrine until their death. Therefore, not only all preachers, but all Christians who desire to grow in knowledge, should welcome with joy any writing that treats the doctrine of justification in a pure, thorough and experiential way. The present one is indeed such. The author of it, Heshusius, was born on November 3, 1527 in Wesel in the Prussian province of Rhineland, studied in Wittenberg, and died as the first professor of theology in Helmstedt in 1588. His main activity thus falls into the frightening time after Luther's death up to and after the adoption of the Formula of Concord. In this time, when so many fell away from the teachings of the Reformation, our Heshusius was among the few faithful students of Luther. His incorruptible faithfulness also had the consequence that his whole life was almost a constant wandering from place to place. Almost regularly, after a short administration, he was expelled by the enemies of the pure doctrine or of Christian discipline. The most peaceful years of his life were the four years during which he was court preacher to Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken in Neuburg on the Danube. It was during this time, in 1568, that he published the Ten Sermons on the Justification of Sinners before God. They deal with this doctrine in a thorough manner and in Heshusius' own, at that time so rare, fluent and granular language. The book, comprising 380 pages in small octavo and bound in pasteboard with gold title, costs $1.00.  Postage is 10 cents. It may be obtained at the address of the publisher, F. Dette, 710 Franklin Ave., St. Louis, Mo., in Leipzig von E. Bredt.   W. [Walther]

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      Walther's emphasis on the Doctrine of Justification follows Luther and the Lutheran Church as we saw in many previous blog posts. And we see that Heshusius also shines as a Lutheran theologian and deserves to be read.  This brief book announcement by Walther caused me to prepare a translation of Heshusius's book and publish it… in the next Part 2. 

UOJ, Ohio's great error &… The Lutheran Witness? Part 1 of 2

      Universal, Objective Justification (UOJ) continues to be ignored or misunderstood in today's Lutheranism.  But it was the core teaching of not only Walther, but also the Synodical Conference from its beginning.  One of my more popular blogs presented Pieper's sharp warning in June 1889 against the Ohio Synod and their fall on this foundational Christian doctrine of Justification.  But less than a year later, in March 1890, another sharp warning appeared against the changing Ohio Synod and its Lutheran Standard magazine, this time in the English language The Lutheran Witness. The following is the summary section (Google Books, p. 155-156) of one of the finest essays that The Lutheran Witness magazine has ever produced, apart from translations of Walther's German language writings: 

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Such is the article, a truly wonderful document, in our opinion on the relation of faith towards universal justification. This article voiced the sentiments of the whole Synodical Conference in 1872. In this article our readers are informed: “The sectarians do not simply regard faith as a hand, but as a condition which man must fulfill before he can go to heaven; whereas faith is nothing but an empty hand which God must fill. If we had nothing else but faith, and not Christ (which of course is impossible), we would be damned with all our faith; for not the act of faith, but Christ whom we thereby embrace, makes us pleasing to God. And this is what all fanatics <page 156> overlook. They wish to secure some place for the activity of man, and therefore they now lodge it in man’s faith, now in his penitence, again in his conversion, and yet again in his sanctification,” etc.

But in 1890 the Standard also writes: “Faith is a necessary condition of man’s justification.” In 1872 the Standard in agreement with Synodical Conference stated: “The sectarians regard faith as a condition which man must fulfill before he can go to heaven;” in 1890 the same Standard writes: “Faith is a necessary condition of man’s justification.” In 1872 faith was only an empty hand and no condition; in 1890 faith has become a necessary condition and is no longer an empty hand only. The Standard of 1890 has killed the Standard of 1872. According to its own verdict Ohio has taken its place among sectarians in wishing and working “to secure some place for the activity of man” in conversion, justification and election. Yet, in consummate hypocrisy, the renegades at Columbus charge Missouri with having falsified even the doctrine of justification. The sad truth is, Ohio has changed both its doctrine and morals. G. A. M.

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Along with the clarion call against the Ohio Synod that this summary displayed, it was also a surprise for me to see it published in English, for it seemed that it was largely the German speaking Missouri theologians who were strong on the Doctrine of Justification.  Unfortunately today's LC-MS theologians, who want to label Old Missouri as "LC-MS", do not teach like the Old (German) Missouri Synod. So why do they promote themselves as Old Missouri?…  Good question.

      Now I will reproduce the full 2-part essay (March 7, March 21) for the full background and narrative, even though it is freely available in Google Books.  In the next Part 2, I present my conclusion on this pivotal doctrine.

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LUTHERAN WITNESS, March 7, 1890,

Polemical.

Ohio in 1872 and in 1890 on Faith and Conversion.

1. ON FAITH.

“Meeting of the Synodical Conference (1872).”

“Christ is the lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.” He was the representative of the human race in bearing all men's iniquities, suffering and dying for our sins. When he arose again from the dead, He was pronounced acquitted. This acquittal was again in our stead. In Him all men are absolved. “He was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.” He died and rose again not only for an elect few, but for all men, and the benefits of the redemption are secured to all. “As by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” There is a general justification of the race in Christ as the substitute for all men. The benefits thus secured are brought to men through the means of grace. These are not efficient causes of the blessings bestowed, but channels through which they are conveyed. They bring the gift which is already purchased and secured. Faith is not a condition of the existence of forgiveness for men. It is the means of its appropriation. When absolution is pronounced, it is valid whether men believe it or not. Faith does not make God’s declaration true that our sins are forgiven us. It is made because it is true and faith is to receive it because it is true. Were it not true, unbelief could not be the great sin it is. It is absurd to say that we might believe a thing to be true in order that it may become true and give us comfort. Our comfort might rest upon the truth in itself, which does not become truth by our faith and does not become untruth by our faithlessness. When the truth that our sins are forgiven us in Christ is received we are personally justified by faith and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He that believeth not shall be damned, because he rejects the free pardon brought to him through the means of grace. His sin is not that he failed to fulfill conditions under which he might have received forgiveness of sin, but that he has not appropriated the forgiveness offered without money and price.” (L. Standard, Vol. XXX, No. 15, whole No. 820. Aug. 1, 1872, page 116.)

Prof. Matthias Loy
Ohio Synod
"Prof. Toy"

This summary of the discussions of this subject was written by the Editor, “Rev. M. Loy,” and is introduced in these words: “To this subject” (of justification) “the greater portion of the time set apart for this meeting of Conference was devoted, not because there was any diversity of opinion upon it among the members, but because of its paramount importance and also because some not connected with the Conference had disputed essential features of the doctrine.” Now in 1890 this same Standard and this same “Loy” writes, “Faith is a necessary condition of justification.” In 1872 faith was not a condition of the existence of forgiveness of sins. In 1890 it has become a <column 2> necessary condition of justification. Now they teach the very reverse of what they taught twenty years ago in the very article of justification. Now they find a merit of man in his faith or apprehension, formerly faith was to them the God-given hand only whereby man grasps the pardon announced in the gospel of justification. This shows that the Standard has become a Sand-ard, and Rev. Loy a Prof. Toy.

[Read the balance of this article in the "Read more »" section below; Conclusion in Part 2]

Makes righteous? or declares? 2 LCMS theologians (Robert Kolb vs. Steven P. Mueller)

      Two recent readings from LC-MS theologians have exposed both a confusion of the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification and… a surprisingly good book.  Before I say more, let me show the exact comparison of statements in the following table:

Martin Luther, Confessor of the Faith (Oxford University Press, ©2009)	Called to Believe, Teach & Confess:  An Introduction to Doctrinal Theology (Wipf & Stock, 2005)
Dr. Robert Kolb Prof. (emeritus), Concordia Seminary	Dr. Steven P. Mueller (CV) Dean of Christ College Concordia University-Irvine
page 124: Martin Luther’s “beginning ‘to understand God's righteousness as that through which, as through God’s gift, the righteous person lives, namely on the basis of faith, and that it means the passive [righteousness] through which the merciful God makes us righteous ("iustificat") through faith’ (Hab. 2:4).”	page 237: “Infused righteousness is another way of saying that God makes us actually righteous … In contrast, imputed righteousness gives comfort and assurance. God has not changed our nature… We are declared righteous and just because of Christ.”

Which is it: "makes us righteous" or "declared us righteous"? Does God "make us righteous", which allows the thought that we are then able to be a party in the process of conversion? Or has God objectively, because of Christ's vicarious satisfaction, pardoned the sin of (or declared righteous) the whole world of sinners in His heart?
      In the first column Dr. Kolb interpreted Luther's Latin words (WA 54:186.5-8, LW 34:337; StL14:447) as "God makes us righteous" but he translated the same Latin word "iustificat" as "justifies" or "justify", not "makes righteous", in his Book of Concord (2000), p. 89:48, 125:31, 127:45, 130:62, etc. (see here for iustificat in BoC).  It is puzzling as to why Kolb would write the phrase "makes us righteous" in 2009 while he earlier in 2000 translated the same word as "justifies" or "justify". — The confusion of Dr. Kolb on "Justification" was not surprising to me given his uninterrupted actions of unionism.  I am also not surprised that most LCMS theologians are also confused on the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification.
      But I was surprised to discover the other book, one that has much to recommend it from a Lutheran standpoint, even with some notable caveats.  Dr. Mueller directly refutes the translation of Dr. Kolb, and from a thoroughly Lutheran standpoint. (Mueller also teaches Universal, Objective Justification – UOJ).
      So why make such a fuss over this seemingly minor, insignificant change of wording by Dr. Robert Kolb?  It is because it is a matter of spiritual life and death. It touches the "Foundation of the Christian Faith", a subject for which Dr. Franz Pieper is the best teacher since C.F.W. Walther.
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      As much as I would like to praise Steven Mueller's book more, yet I would have to ask him some pointed questions. In particular: why does another teacher at his Concordia University-Irvine under his leadership, Associate Professor of History and Theology Clinton J. Armstrong, call the Lutheran reformer Jakob Andreae guilty of "backstabbing", having "plenty of baggage", "vitriolic and histrionic", etc. in his book Lutheranism vs. Calvinism: The Classic Debate at the Colloquy of Montbéliard 1586 (p. xii)?