The Mormon Abomination

It is exceedingly difficult to compose a succinct definition and description of the Mormon or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints beliefs and practices since they are rather strange and incredulous. Mormons attempt to be identified as a part of mainstream Christianity, but anything can be further from the truth. While today they are placing great emphasis upon Jesus Christ to demonstrate their “Christian” identity, the Jesus of Mormonism is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Regarding the sources for their beliefs, Mormons identify the King James Version of the Bible, the Book of Mormon which was “translated” by Joseph Smith and published in 1830. Smith claimed it is the “most correct book” on earth. Doctrine and Covenants, containing a collection of modern revelations, and The Pearl of Great Price, which clarifies teachings that were lost from the Bible.There are about fourteen million Mormons worldwide.

Joseph Smith Jr. (1805–1844) was born in Sharon, Vermont. By 1817, he had moved with his family to the burned-over district of western New York. He claimed that while praying in a wooded area near his home in 1820, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him his sins were forgiven and that all contemporary churches had "turned aside from the gospel." The event would later grow in importance to Smith's followers, who now regard it as the first event in the gradual restoration of Christ's church on Earth.

 In 1823, Smith claimed the angel Moroni directed him to a buried book of golden plates in the hills of Palmyra, New York describing the Judeo-Christian history of the ancient American civilizations of the Nephites and the Lamanites. In 1830, Smith published what he said was an English translation of these plates called the Book of Mormon, named after Mormon, a so-called ancient prophet–historian who allegedly compiled the book. He had given it to his son Moroni who appeared to Joseph Smith as an angel. There were three witnesses who claimed to have seen the angel and the golden plates, each one exhibiting a bizarre spirituality.

There are many conflicting views of the source of the Book of Mormon. Some say Smith wrote it. Some claim it was collaborative effort Other say it was plagerized from a fictional work written by Solomon Spalding, a retired Congregational minister,

That same year Smith published his book, proclaimed his visions, gained followers, and organized the Church of Christ, calling it a restoration of the early Christian church. Members of the church were called "Mormons.” In 1838, Smith announced a revelation renaming the church as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

One thing for sure, the Mormons were a people on the move. They settled in Kirkland Ohio, moved to western Missouri where they were ousted by order of the Governor.  In late 1839, they bought the small town of Commerce, Illinois and renamed it Nauvoo, derived from the traditional Hebrew with an anglicized spelling meaning “beautiful.” They settled and built a temple. By 1844, the population of Nauvoo's had swollen to about twelve thousand due to Mormon influx, rivaling the size of Chicago.

On June 27, 1844, in Carthage, Illinois, Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob who began burning homes and threatening members of the group. A full-scale battle ensued, and Mormons were forced to flee from Nauvoo. Two years after their expulsion, their temple was set ablaze by an arsonist. It was destroyed in 1867. Because Hyrum Smith was the logical successor, the deaths of the brothers caused a leadership crisis, and Brigham Young assumed leadership over the majority of Mormons. Believing they could find no peace among their neighbors, they trekked west and finally settled in Salt Lake City.

Through the early years of the Christian Church there have been many views cited regarding the person of Jesus Christ and His relationship with God, but no group has ever perverted, distorted, and blasphemed God more than the Mormons. They are polytheists and have many gods. They reject the Doctrine of the Trinity and claim that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three gods. God the Father has not always been the Supreme Being of the universe but attained that status through righteous living and persistent effort. Mormons believe that God the Father has a “body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” While Jesus and the Father have physical bodies, the Holy Spirit has a spirit-body. God resides on a planet called Koleb and is married to his goddess wife and produces spirit children. God the Father was once a mortal who lived on an earth. He died, was resurrected, glorified, and grew into his deified status. According to Joseph Smith, there is a “God above the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus is the literal son of god born of his mother Mary. He is the first of the many spirit-children born of his parents, father and mother god. He is the brother of Lucifer. Jesus is the Yahweh or Jehovah of the Old Testament and is the creator of many worlds He was the spiritual "first born" Son of God in the preexistence. "Every person who was ever born on earth was our spirit brother or sister in heaven. The first spirit born to our heavenly parents was Jesus Christ, so he is literally our elder brother" Mormons claim they know more about Jesus than any other Christian Church.

God sent his pre-existent spirit children to earth to receive physical bodies and grow and develop into exalted “godness.” They are born basically good and are "gods in embryo." But they were deceived and sinned requiring Jesus to come to earth to suffer and die and atone for their sins and put them back on the right path. After his resurrection, according to the Book of Mormon, Jesus appeared to the Nephites in America.

Jesus' atonement provided immortality for all people. Exaltation (godhood) is available only to Mormons through obedience to Mormon teachings: faith, baptism, endowments, celestial marriage, and tithing. "Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God- wherefore, all things are theirs" Exalted people will live eternally in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They will become gods and will have their righteous family members with them and will be able to have spirit children who will have the same relationship to them as we do to our Heavenly Father. They will be an eternal family. They will have everything that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have - all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge. The Mormons state: "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become."

Mormons have three levels of eternal life.

Exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom for faithful Mormons where people may become gods or angels.

Terrestrial Kingdom for righteous non-Mormons; They are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fullness.

Telestial Kingdom for wicked and ungodly (not hell); "These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers . . . who suffer the wrath of God on earth."

While all Mormons attend church in their local congregation or services at the Tabernacle, only a select group who fulfill all the rules of Mormonism receive a Temple recommend. Adult males are ordained into the Melchizedek Priesthood. Temple recommends are usually issued by a bishop who is responsible as a "judge in Israel." The one who attends the Temple enjoys the spiritual atmosphere and participates in baptisms for the dead.

Baptism for the dead is an Important Mormon practice carried out in the Temple. Baptism is an essential requirement to enter the Kingdom of God. Mormons are asked to trace their family trees and discover the names of ancestors who died without learning about the so-called “Mormon Gospel.” These relatives from past generations are baptized by proxy in the temple. For Mormons, genealogy is a way to save more souls and strengthen the eternal family unit. Jews have strongly objected to the Mormons baptizing by proxy the names of Jews, especially holocaust survivors.

About 2.4 million rolls of microfilm containing two billion names that have been traced are locked away behind fourteen-ton doors in the Granite Mountain Records Vault, a climate-controlled repository designed to survive a nuclear blast.

 The practice of baptizing for the dead is based upon one verse of the New Testament (1 Corinthians 15:29), although the meaning of that verse is esoteric. The early church viewed the practice as being unique in Corinth and an outgrowth of the heresy of Gnosticism and forbid it.

One of the strange practices of Mormons is the wearing of “sacred underwear” by those who have received a temple recommend and have participated in the endowment or initiation ceremony. Mormons compare this practice with the practice of other religions who wear sacred garments, except Mormons wear those sacred garments as underwear. Joseph Smith described Mormon underwear as “the most sacred of all things in the world, next to their own virtue, next to their own purity of life.”

The promises made in the endowment ceremony are similar to the promises made in Masonic ceremonies. There is a distinct relationship between Mormonism and the Masons. Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon movement, as was true of his older brother Hyrum and possibly his father, were Freemasons while the family lived near Palmyra, New York. Smith introduced a temple endowment ceremony including a number of symbolic elements that were very similar to those in Freemasonry. Smith remained a Freemason until his death.

Regarding the primary issue of salvation, Mormons teach that one attains heaven not by grace alone through faith, but by faith together with obedience to the Law and ordinances of Mormonism.

Mormonism is an abomination. It distorts everything we as Christians hold dear, believe and teach. Their doctrine of God is blasphemous. Their understanding of Jesus is contrary to Scripture. While the Bible teaches one God in three persons, the Mormons are polytheists, believing in the existence of many gods. Mormons who are exalted can themselves become gods leading authors Ed Decker and David Hunt to title their expose’ of Mormonism The God Makers.

Christians can confront Mormons on many levels:

We believe there is one God in Three Persons, Mormons believe there are many gods. Mormons are polytheists.

To suggest that God would hide golden tablets near Palmyra, New York intending to restore the true church to be discovered in 1828 is ridiculous. If such golden tablets presented possible truth they would have been unearthed in archaeological digs in Israel, not Palmyra, New York.

The geographical location, the “burned over” section of upstate New York, presented the perfect environment to create a fanciful religion

The Bible says no one has seen God at any time (John 1:18) yet Joseph Smith claims that God the Father and Jesus appeared to him in 1820.

Jesus told the woman at the well that God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:25). Mormons teach that God has a physical body.

Jesus is the only begotten Son of God from all eternity not the product of a sexual relationship between, father and mother god.

To suggest that Jesus is the brother of Lucifer and Jehovah (Yahweh) in the Old Testament is pure invention and contrary to Scripture.

The Bible says we are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26) not the pre-existent spirit-children of father and mother god.

According to archaeological evidence, there is no trace or record of Nephites and Lamanites ever existing in so-called Mesoamerica. Dr. Raymond T. Matheny, a Brigham Young University professor, after working in the area of archaeology for twenty-two years, reported that the scientific evidence simply does not support the existence of the peoples and events chronicled in the Book of Mormon, be it in Central America or anywhere else in the western hemisphere. There is manifold historical and archaeological evidence supporting the truth claims of the Bible.

Mormons teach that the truth of the Book of Mormon will be affirmed to the seeker through a “burning in the bosom.” The truth of the Bible is confirmed by multitudes of ancient documents, historical and archaeological discoveries.

Summary:

In thinking about the Mormons I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul  said about the Jews in Romans 10:2-4:

For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

 Mormons are not Christians and will be judged for their distortion of and additions to the Word of God. When confronting them, probing questions and a clear witness to the Gospel must be presented with humility and compassion. They have been deceived.

Roman Catholic Issues

There are many issue that divide Lutherans and Romans Catholics, but the doctrine of justification and the role of good works in salvation is the key issue. Regarding justification, the Lutheran Reformation taught, based on Scripture (Romans 3:28, 4:5, 5:1; Galatians 2:16, 2:21; Philippians 3:9), that God imputes the righteousness of Christ to the sinner who, by faith receives the benefits. Rome teaches the infusion of the righteousness of Christ at Baptism as a deposit that must bring forth good works that are necessary for salvation. The  Council of Trent (1545-1563), meeting to deal with the issues of the Reformation, flatly rejected the truth of justification by faith without the works of the Law and condemned those who believed it. Canon XI of Trent states: "If any one saith, that men are justified, either by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins, to the exclusion of the grace and the charity which is poured forth in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, and is inherent in them; or even that the grace, whereby we are justified, is only the favor of God; let him be anathema." (anathema means one who is cursed by ecclesiastical authority)

In 1999, the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification made headlines. The document was created and agreed to by the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation. As a result of extensive ecumenical dialogue, the document states that the churches now share "a common understanding of our justification by God's grace through faith in Christ.”

Agreement between Rome and Lutherans over the doctrine of justification, the doctrine by which the church stands or falls, as Luther put it, is not possible since there are two totally different systems whereby a sinner becomes righteous before God. While both Lutherans and Catholics will say that we are “saved by grace through faith,” the terms are defined differently. For Lutherans, grace is the undeserved favor of God who sent Jesus into the world to bear our sins in exchange for His perfect righteousness. We are righteous before God because of the forgiveness of our sins and perfect righteousness of Christ not because of any inherent righteousness or good works on our part that gain Divine merit. For Rome, grace is infused (gratia infusa) into the person at Baptism as an investment which produces good works that merit salvation if the person remains joined to the church, free of mortal sin, and participates in the Sacraments. Faith means to trust the merits of Christ, in addition to the merits of the Virgin Mary and the saint in heaven. The process whereby the person become holy before a holy God is completed in purgatory.    

The primary difficulty that arises when discussing issues with Romans Catholics is the issue of authority and the source of truth. No meaningful discussion can take place if each party begins with a different understanding of the source of truth.  Lutherans teach all truth is derived from Scripture Alone. Rome teaches that Scripture plus sacred tradition, church councils, and Pope are the source of truth. The Catechism of the Catholic Church #88 states: "The Church's Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these."

To prove their point, Romans Catholics quote 1 Timothy 3:15: “But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” By “church” they mean the Church’s Magisterium (Pope, Councils, etc.) while the Apostle Paul is referring to the fellowship of God’s people (Gk: ekklesia – the called out people of God) who gather around the Word of God which is the “ground of truth.” For Rome, the “Church” is the priests, cardinal and Pope which exists apart from the people. Luther taught the “priesthood of all believers” and defined the Church as the people gathering around Word and Sacrament.

Within Romans Catholicism there is a development of dogma, that which must be believed. Lutherans believe revelation ceased with the Scripture and there are no new truths that will emerge and must be believed. According to a Wikipedia article regarding Rome: "However, new dogmata can be declared through the ages. For instance, the 20th century witnessed the introduction of the dogma of Assumption of Mary by Pope Pius XII in 1950. However, these beliefs were already held in some form or another within the Church before their elevation to the dogmatic level. And a movement to declare a fifth Marian dogma for Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix is underway." Dogma cannot be changed and that is a DOGMA. Therefore, Rome does not nor cannot change.

Is the Pope the Anti-Christ? Luther stated:: "It is eminently true that all who preach human doctrine make a human being into a light, lead the people away from this light to themselves, and put themselves in the place of this true light, as the pope and his followers have done. For this reason, he is also the “Anti-Christ”; he is against this true light.” Luther, M. (1999, c1974). Luther's Works, Sermons II (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (Vol. 52, Page 69). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.  By these words, Luther is referring to the Office of the Papacy.

Rome teaches a Marian Theology (theology regarding Mary, the mother of Jesus) that is not based upon Scripture.

1)  Mother of God: Mary is the theotokos or “God-bearer.” Lutherans also acknowledge that Mary is the Mother of God because she gave birth to the Son of God according to both His human and divine natures which cannot be divided.

2)  Perpetual Virginity: While it is true that Martin Luther believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary and some Lutherans hold to that view, yet Scripture indicates that Jesus had brothers and sisters, Matthew 1:24-25: “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” Matthew 13:55-56: “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” James, the head of the Church at Jerusalem is referred to as the “brother of our Lord.” (Galatians 1:19)

3)  Immaculate Conception: Pope Pius IX issued his Apostolic constitution, Ineffabilis Deus, in which the Immaculate Conception of Mary in the womb of her mother Anne was defined as a dogma on December 8, 1854. On December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated. Many Romans Catholics will mistakenly apply the immaculate conception to Jesus rather than to Mary. Jesus was not immaculately conceived. He was incarnated, meaning “the Word became flesh.”

4)  Bodily Assumption: On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII solemnly declared in his Apostolic Constitution titled  Munificentissimus Deus (Most Bountiful God): "By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”

Lutherans respond to the Immaculate Conception and Bodily Assumption by accurately stating that these “truths” are not found in the Bible. For Rome, this makes no difference. The Pope has the authority to define dogma that must be believed.

5)  There are popular Marian teachings that are presently taught as traditions such as Mary is the Co-Redemptrix. She participated with Jesus in the redemption of the world. In time, this distortion of the Gospel will become a dogma of Rome.

The Romans Catholic Sacrifice of the Mass, or Sacerdotalism, claims that sacrifices for sin requires the intervention of a priest.   The Council of Trent taught that the Mass is the same as Calvary, "only the manner of offering being changed" from bloody to unbloody. On the altar, Jesus is again sacrificed for the sins of the world.  Luther wrote: “The Mass in the papacy must be regarded as the greatest and most horrible abomination because it runs into direct and violent conflict with this fundamental article. Yet, above and beyond all others, it has been the supreme and most precious of the papal idolatries, for it is held that this sacrifice or work of the Mass (even when offered by an evil scoundrel) delivers men from their sins, both here in this life and yonder in purgatory, although in reality this can and must be done by the Lamb of God alone.” Tappert, T. G. (2000, c1959). The Book of Concord (The Smalcald Articles: 2, II, 1). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.  

Purgatory is a necessary dogma for Rome. It is the state or place of purification or temporary punishment by which those who die with non-mortal sins and so in the state of grace are made ready for the Beatifici Vision in heaven. By rejecting justification by faith and believing that one must be purified before entering heaven, purgatory is a necessary addition to Rome’s understanding of the basis of salvation. Those who fail to attain purified righteousness here on earth, are doomed to purgatory. Luther wrote: “Consequently purgatory and all the pomp, services, and business transactions associated with it are to be regarded as nothing else than illusions of the devil, for purgatory, too, is contrary to the fundamental article that Christ alone, and not the work of man, can help souls. Besides, nothing has been commanded or enjoined upon us with reference to the dead. All this may consequently be discarded, apart entirely from the fact that it is error and idolatry.” Tappert, T. G. (2000, c1959). The Book of Concord (The Smalcald Articles: 2, II, 12). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

In Rome, sainthood is reserved for those who have entered heaven. There is a process leading to canonization or sainthood. Step one is to wait five years after the death of the potential saint. The individual must be defined as a “servant of God” or Venerable and his life must show proof of “heroic virtue.”  Finally, two verified miracles must be shown because of praying to the potential saint.

In 2019, Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801 – 1890) an English theologian and Cardinal was canonized. Two miracles were ascribed to him. In 2001, Jack Sullivan, an American deacon from Marshfield in Massachusetts, attributed his recovery from a spinal cord disorder to the intercession of Newman. The miracle was accepted by Rome. The approval of a further miracle at the intercession of Newman was reported in November 2018: the healing of a pregnant woman from a grave illness. Thus, Newman was declared a saint, because he must be in heaven and thereby able to intercede for those on earth who pray to him. Luther responds to this definition of a saint by saying, “Scripture calls us holy while we are still living here on earth, if we believe. The papists have taken this name away from us and say: ‘We should not be holy; only the saints in heaven are holy.’ Therefore, we must get the noble name back. You must be holy. But you must be prepared not to think that you are holy of yourself or on the strength of your merit. No, you must be holy because you have the Word of God, because heaven is yours, and because you have become truly pious and holy through Christ. This you must avow if you want to be a Christian. For it would be the greatest slander and blasphemy of the name of Christ if we refused to honor Christ’s blood for washing away our sin or refused to believe that this blood makes us holy. Hence you must believe and confess that you are holy, but by this blood and not by reason of your own piety. Therefore, you must be willing to surrender life and all possessions for this and to face whatever may be your lot on this account.” Luther, M. (1999, c1967). Vol. 30: Luther's Works: The Catholic Epistles (1 Pe 1:3 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.).  Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Regarding the invocation of the Saints or trusting in the merits of the saints for salvation, Luther wrote: “Our opponents teach that we should put our trust in the invocation of the saints, though they have neither a Word of God nor an example from Scripture for this. They apply the merits of the saints in the same way as the merits of Christ and thus transfer to the saints the honor that belongs to Christ. Therefore, we cannot accept either their ideas about venerating the saints or their practice of praying to them. We know that we must put our trust in the intercession of Christ because only this has God’s promise. We know that the merits of Christ are our only propitiation. Because of them we are accounted righteous when we believe in him, as the text says (Rom. 9:33), “He who believes in him will not be put to shame.” We must not believe that we are accounted righteous by the merits of the blessed Virgin or of the other saints. Tappert, T. G. (2000, c1959). The Book of Concord: (Apology of the Augsburg Confession: 1, IX, 31). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.Luther:

The Sacraments:

What is a Sacrament?  The word “sacrament” is not in the Bible. It means an action or practice that has sacred and mysterious significance. Jesus mandated two such rites or practices that impart the forgiveness of sins and are defined as means of grace: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. In each case, there are physical elements involved: water and bread and wine.

Rome identifies Seven Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Communion, Marriage, Ordination, Last Rites (Sacrament of the Sick).

There is a major difference between Roman Catholic and Lutheran theology regarding the efficacy of the Sacrament, particularly the Lord’s Supper. Roman Catholics believe the Sacraments are effective regardless of the condition of the recipients. This is defined in Latin as Ex Opere Operato (for the sake of the work performed.)

Lutheran theologian C.F.W. Walther writes regarding a worthy recipient of the Lord’s Supper: "He, therefore, who would receive the Lord’s Supper worthily and for his benefit must previously have come to repentance and faith, must previously have obtained grace and have become a true Christian. Partaking of the Lord’s Supper is in and by itself not beneficial; rather the benefit depends on how one partakes. It does not work ex opere operato. It is not like a medicine which one need merely swallow to have the benefit. It is rather like a treasure house whose treasures can be taken, grasped and held only with the hand of faith." CFW Walther, Pastoral Theology, as quoted in Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, III: p.382,

Rome teaches that in Baptism original sin is removed but concupiscence, the tendency to sin, remains. Lutherans teach that after Baptism original sin remains but a new life in Christ has been imparted so that the Christian is simul justus et peccator (at the same time, a saint and a sinner). In the Council of Trent, Rome rejected this position since the righteousness acceptable before God is a personal and inherent righteousness, not the alien righteousness of Christ. The Lutheran significance of Baptism is that old sinful nature is daily put to death so that the new life in Christ is manifest. From the perspective of the Apostle Paul, his sinful nature remained even after Baptism. He wrote: “If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” (Romans 7:16-18)   

Regarding the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Altar, Eucharist) Rome teaches transubstantiation, the substance of bread changes into the Body of Christ and the substance of wine changes into the Blood of Christ.  This leads to the “adoration of the Sacrament.” The bread is actually the body of Christ and is to be adored as such. Lutherans teach Real Presence, that in, with and under the bread and wine the Body and Blood of Christ is present in the eating and drinking. In 1 Corinthians 10:16 the Apostle Paul indicates that the cup remains the cup and the bread remains the bread. “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”

Summary:

The differences between Lutherans and Roman Catholics are not merely cosmetic or of minor significance. While we believe that Roman Catholics who are informed by Scripture and believe in Jesus are Christians and may be surprised after death when they find themselves in heaven rather than in purgatory, the system of Roman Catholicism is opposed to and of a different nature than the theology that emerged in the sixteenth-century Reformation. The tragedy of Roman Catholicism is that the millions of adherents are ignorant of the Word of God, especially the Good News of the Gospel, and are trusting their membership and participation in “mother church” as the basis for their salvation.

Lutheran Christians should know and understand the distortions taught by the Romans Catholic Church and be willing and able to engage their Roman Catholic neighbors in friendly discussion.

I recall some years ago teaching an adult information class for prospective members of the congregation. After presenting a session on the significance of the Gospel with a specific emphasis on justification by grace through faith, I noticed that a woman in the back of the room was crying. Speaking with her after the session, she was relieved to hear the Good News of the Gospel since she had never been certain of her eternal salvation.

This is a typical response when Romans Catholics are confronted with the Good News of what Jesus accomplished for them through His shed blood and perfect righteousness.

The Holy Trinity

Last Sunday, June 7th, was celebrated in the life of the Church as the Feast of the Holy Trinity. During my many years in the parish ministry, observing the church year, I always regarded Trinity Sunday as a very important day. It was historically one of the Church's major Feast days. Growing up in an LCMS congregation I remembered Trinity Sunday as the Sunday we began by singing the great hymn of the Church "Holy, Holy, Holy." Trinity Sunday is the culmination of the festival portion of the church year. The focus of the day is not about events but simply about the greatness and wonder of our God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- a fitting climax in response to the saving acts of God in Christ Jesus. The Doctrine of the Trinity, defining the Triune (three in one) nature of God, is the identifying mark of the Christian Church. 

Groups such as Jehovah Witnesses, Oneness Pentecostals and Unitarians reject the doctrine, claiming that the word "Trinity" or "Triune" are not found in the Bible but were a later invention. Mormons also claim that this doctrine was made up by men, voted on and changed over centuries of debate. Instead, Mormons believe in the Godhead — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, as three distinct beings. They claim that is 1820, God the Father and his Son Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith while he was praying in a grove of trees. Rather than being monotheists (one God), Mormons are polytheists. It is the hope of every Mormon to become a god in his own right and rule his own universe. Groups who reject the Doctrine of the Trinity are not considered to be a part of the Holy Apostolic Christian Church but are cults or sects.

While it is true that that words "Trinity" or "Triune" are not found in the Bible, the doctrine is a necessary definition based upon what IS in the Bible.. The Bible teaches Monotheism. There is one God! The Great Shema of of Deuteronomy 6:4 declares: "Hear, (shema in Hebrew) O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." This is the necessary starting point.

Jesus claimed to be God. He said, "I and the Father are one (John 10:30). When Philip asked Him to reveal the Father, Jesus replied, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." (John 14:9) To the Pharisees Jesus declared, ."Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am." (John 8:58) The very words "I am" is the name of God or Yahweh. Because Jesus claimed to be God the Pharisees conspired to kill him, "For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." (John 5:18) The prologue of John's Gospel declares that "The Word was God." (John 1:1)

Jesus promised to His disciples "another Comforter" or "Advocate" who would be distinct from the Father and from Jesus. Jesus said, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever." (John 14:9) "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.." (John 14:26)

These truths drawn from Scripture produced many controversies and heresies in the first 250 years of Christian history. There were numerous groups proposing their own notions as to the person of Jesus Christ. The Docetists claimed that Jesus did not have a physical body but was a phantasm. The Sabellians suggested that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are merely three modes of God existence (modalism). The Marcionites taught that the God of the Old Testament was not the same God of the New Testament. The Adoptionists believed that Jesus was adopted as the Son of God in His Baptism. The prominent heresy at the beginning of the fourth century was Arianism. Arius, a prelate from Alexandria, taught that Jesus was inferior to the Father and came into existence at a point in time. He promoted his beliefs, not merely by written proposition, but by composing little choruses or jingles in which he set his heresy to some of the popular tunes of the day. It has been suggested that since Alexandria was a major seaport, some of the sailors were singing the tunes of Arius, and the heresy spread from port to port.

God intervened in this situation in a most unique manner, requiring the leaders of the Church to come together by the decree of the Roman Emperor and settle the issue. God works in mysterious ways. Here is how it happened:

After Emperor Diocletian (who had been a fierce persecutor of Christians) stepped down in 305, the battle for the throne was between Constantine and Maxentius. In October of 312, their armies engaged in battle at the Milivian Bridge, an important bridge over the Tiber River leading to Rome. This battle would change the course of history.

A coin depicting Constantine
with a standard displaying
the Chi-Rho

While their are varied reports, the church father Eusebius (265-340) claims to have received his information from Constantine himself. Eusebius reports that Constantine's army was marching when Constantine looked up to the sun and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek words "Εν Τούτῳ Νίκα," translated into Latin as "in hoc signo vinces," meaning "in this sign, conquer." At first he was unsure of the meaning of the vision, but in the following night he had a dream in which Christ explained to him that he should use the sign against his enemies. Either the cross or the Chi-Rho, the first two letters in Greek for "Christ," were painted on the schields and the standards. Constantine won the battle and in 313 issued the Edict of Milan, declaring Christianity to be an official religion in the Roman Empire. Constantine eventually converted to Christianity and was baptized by Eusebius on his death bed.

Because of the disunity that existed within the Christian Church, especially the issue of Arianism, Constantine called for the first ecumenical council to meet in the city of Nicea in modern day Turkey in 325 to resolve the issues. About 300 bishops from the East and the West attended. After a careful  and prayerful study of Scripture, they were led to the conclusion that there is a singular Divine essence, thus preserving monotheism, shared by three distinct and separate person - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is Triune, three persons sharing a singular Divine essence. In defining the person of Jesus Christ, the creed of Nicea declared that He was "God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made" and being of the same substance as the Father. Arianism was rejected as a heresy. When you put together the monotheism of the Old Testament together with the statements of Jesus regarding Himself and the Holy Spirit, while it is a mystery, there is no other way of defining the essence of God.

The Council of Nicea theologically settled the issue of Arianism. What Arius taught, that Jesus was inferior to the Father and begotten at a point in time, was condemned as heresy, even though many of the common folk held to his teaching and continued to sing his popular jingles. As in the words of Martin Luther's explanation of the second article of the Apostles' Creed, Nicea declared that Jesus Christ was, "true God, begotten of the Father from eternity and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary." Jesus is both fully God and fully man. He possesses both a human and a divine nature.

For the early church, questions still remained regarding the manner in which the divine and human natures of Jesus, the Son of God, interacted. Were there times when Jesus acted only according to His human nature when he wept, hungered, slept and died? Were there times when Jesus acted only according to his Divine nature when he performed miracles which only God could do? Were these two natures in Christ distinct and separate or was there a hypostatic union, the union of the two natures in the essence of the one person, Jesus, the Son of God. Nestorius, the Archbishop of Constantinople, rejected the popularly held belief that the Virgin Mary was the theotokos, God-bearer, or the "Mother of God" suggesting that Jesus was not really God. He also taught that the two natures, the Divine and the human were distinct and separate. Another group, referred to as the monophysites, meaning "one nature," generally taught that the human nature of Jesus was assumed or absorbed into His Divine nature. Talk about confusion! Lest you at this point dismiss all these matters and declare "who cares?" let me assure you that these are very important issues that have an impact upon the assurance of your forgiveness of sins.

Without going into great detail, the Council of Ephesus in 431 and Chalcedon in 451 dealt with these issues. The views of both Nestorius and the various Monophysites were condemned as heresy. The position of Nicea was confirmed that the two natures, the Divine and the human, are united in the one person Jesus, the Son of God. The council went on to confirm that the attributes of the Divine nature are communicated to or shared with the human nature. This is technically referred to as the communicatio idiomatum or the "communication of properties." Therefore, Mary is "the mother of God" and the Son of God, according to both nature, suffered and died on the Cross. It can be properly stated that "God suffered for the sins of the world," and "God died." This was not a new idea coming out of the fifth century but the early church fathers Ignatius of Antioch (50-117 AD?) and Tertullian (155-240 AD?) spoke in the same manner about "the blood of God," "the suffering of God" etc.    

Have you ever wondered how it was possible that the suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross was sufficient to pay the price for the sins of the entire world: past, present and future? After all, I am sure that in the annals of history there have been other innocent people, such as Christian martyrs, who have been tortured, beaten and murdered exceeding the suffering of Jesus on the Cross (not taking into consideration the fact that Jesus was bearing the sins of the world).Consider the scales of justice. If you put into the one pan all of the sins of humanity, what would it take to put into the other pan to balance, or exceed the balance whereby the justice of God would be satisfied and the sins of the world forgiven? Would it be sufficient to say that Jesus only suffered and died according to His human nature or must God be included in the mix? The assurance and certainty of the forgiveness of our sins is that God accomplished it on the Cross. The Son of God who manifested his Divine glory on the Mount of Transfiguration is the same Son of God who suffered and died on the Cross. It was not a different Jesus stripped down to his mere humanity.. As the hymn writer put it, "How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”

At the time of the Reformation, Lutherans and Calvinists disagreed over the mode of Christ's presence in the Sacrament. Lutheran theologians embraced the communication of the attributes of the divine nature to the human nature and thus Christ, who filled heaven and earth according to both natures, was omnipresent and therefore present in the Sacrament. Calvinists rejected this understanding, claiming that Christ was spiritually present in the Sacrament and localized at the right-hand of God. This led to the consequence that Calvinists rejected the communication of attributes, concluding that Jesus only died on the Cross according to his human nature, Noted Reformed (Calvinist) theologian R.C. Sproul writes: "Likewise, the person of Christ died on the cross, but Jesus experienced death according to His human nature, for the divine nature is not subject to death and decay." Again he says, "We should shrink in horror from the idea that God actually died on the cross. The atonement was made by the human nature of Christ." (See Internet articles by Sproul "A Communication of Attributes," and "Did God Die on the Cross.)

That from which Sproul shrinks in horror is the very reality that grants to Christians the assurance of their forgiveness of sins because God did it! It is not strange, though, for a Calvinist such as Sproul to reject the Divine participation in the death of Jesus on the cross since assurance is not granted by the shed blood of the Divine Son of God but by election, which appears be the efficient cause of salvation. In the Westminster Confession of the Reformed and Presbyterian Churches, the doctrine of election is in third position taking precedent over the atonement. That which is vital for Lutherans appears to be secondary for Calvinists.

The Formula of Concord rejects the Calvinist notion "That only the mere humanity suffered for us and redeemed us, and that in the passion the Son of God had no communion with the human nature in fact, as though it did not concern him at all."  (Tappert, T. G. (2000, c1959). The Book of Concord," The Formula of of Concord: 1, VIII, 31). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.)

The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a glorious truth. God the Father created us and sent His only Son into this world to redeem us. God the Holy Spirit brings us to faith through our Baptism and the proclamation of the Good News that the Divine Son of God took out place, was perfectly righteous on our behalf, and shed His Divine blood for the forgiveness of our sins. All praise to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen and Amen!





  

Objective Justification:

What it Means and Why It is so Important.

To begin with, it is necessary to define terms:

Objective:  Something that is true outside of me: a fact that has nothing to do with my personal feelings, experience or participation.

Subjective: Something that is true to me: a fact that involves my personal feelings, experience or participation.

Justification: Because of the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross and His perfect righteousness, God forgives sins and declares sinners to be righteous. The controverted issue is: when does that happen?

Lutherans Believe, Teach and Confess:

Objective Justification: Because of the shed blood and perfect righteousness of Jesus on the Cross God has declared the entire world of sinners to be forgiven and righteous regardless of the quality of their lives, their knowledge of the fact, nor their faith in the truth of the fact. This is often referred to as "Universal Atonement" or "General Justification."

Subjective Justification: When an individual, convicted of sin through the Law, is brought to faith through the preaching of objective justification (the Gospel) and receives the benefits, namely, the forgiveness of sins, a new life (born-again) and eternal salvation. Referred to as "Personal Justification."

The Bible Clearly Teaches the Objective Justification of the World of Sinners:

"In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV.

“‘My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2 ESV

“ This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” 1 Tim 2:3-6 ESV

‘Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ‘ Rom 5:18 ESV

In Romans 5, the Apostle Paul establishes the premise that "as it is in Adam, so it is in Christ." In Adam, I am a sinner both objectively and subjectively. I became a sinner objectively when Adam sinned. I became a sinner subjectively when I was born into this world with the old Adam (sinful nature) enmeshed in my being. If one rejects that premise, they essentially reject original sin. If one accepts that premise, the question follows: if the entire world was constituted as sinners when Adam sinned, when was that world of sinners constituted forgiven and righteous? There is only one answer: in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus was raised from the dead, having borne the sins of the whole world, He and the entire world of sinners were absolved. So Paul writes that Jesus was "delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." Rom 4:25 ESV

Reads these words of Martin Luther from his 1535 Lectures on Galatians:

This is the most joyous of all doctrines and the one that contains the most comfort. It teaches that we have the indescribable and inestimable mercy and love of God. When the merciful Father saw that we were being oppressed through the Law, that we were being held under a curse, and that we could not be liberated from it by anything, He sent His Son into the world, heaped all the sins of all men upon Him, and said to Him: “Be Peter the denier; Paul the persecutor, blasphemer, and assaulter; David the adulterer; the sinner who ate the apple in Paradise; the thief on the cross. In short, be the person of all men, the one who has committed the sins of all men. And see to it that You pay and make satisfaction for them.” Now the Law comes and says: “I find Him a sinner, who takes upon Himself the sins of all men. I do not see any other sins than those in Him. Therefore let Him die on the cross!” And so it attacks Him and kills Him. By this deed the whole world is purged and expiated from all sins, and thus it is set free from death and from every evil.Luther, M. (1999, c1963). Vol. 26: Luther's Works, Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Pp. 280-281.(J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (Ga 3:14). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

The Formula of Concord declares, “That the human race is truly redeemed and reconciled with God through Christ, who, by His faultless obedience, suffering, and death, has merited for us the righteousness which avails before God, and eternal life.” (FC SD XI: 15).

Objective justification cannot be separated from subjective justification. When a sinner, born in Adam, is condemned by the Law of God and hears that Good News of God's forgiveness and His justification of the entire world of sinners and comes to faith through the work of the Holy Spirit, the benefits of the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are received. The person is not forgiven or justified on account of their faith but solely on account of the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. The only purpose of faith is to apprehend and appropriate the benefits of the objective, finished work of Christ in His death and resurrection. God so loved this world of sinners that He gave his only Son to die for the sins of the entire world, but whoever believes in Him will receive the benefits of not perishing but having eternal life. I have come to believe that within Lutheran theology the word "benefits" is very important. For example, if an unbeliever comes to the Lord's table and receives the Sacrament, do they receive the body of blood of Christ? The answer is "yes" because of the word and promise of Christ who said, "Take and eat, this is my body. Take and drink, this is my blood." Yet, the unbeliever receives no benefits from that eating and drinking and is, in fact, eating and drinking judgment upon himself. In the same manner, through the redemptive work of Christ, God forgave and declared righteous the entire world of sinners. This is the Gospel! Faith receive the benefits of that universal salvation.

All other Protestant denominations including the Arminians (Baptist, Pentecostal etc,) and Calvinists (Reformed, Presbyterian etc.) reject the objective justification of the entire world of sinners.

Arminians Teach:

Those within the Arminian camp (Baptists, Pentecostals etc.) reject objective justification and teach that a sinner is forgiven and made right with God at the moment they make a decision,"are saved" or come to faith. The "salvation formula" is: The shed blood and perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ + my faith = The forgiveness of sins and justification. To be consistent, the one holding this position would, of necessity, have to reject objective or original sin and teach that one is a sinner when they sin. It is not strange, therefore, that churches that teach this position also reject infant Baptism. This position is fraught with many dangers.

As soon as the subjective element of "faith" is brought into the "salvation equation" the possibility of doubt arises. In addition to having faith in what God has done, the so-called "saved" must also have faith in their own faith.  For this reason, the doctrine of eternal security or "once saved, always saved" is a necessary addition. This is the difference between monergism (one work) and synergism (a joint effort). Lutheran theology based on the clear Word of God, is "monergistic," meaning that the forgiveness of sins and justification is the singular work of God outside of us (extra nos). Those who teach the opposite are "synergistic," teaching that the forgiveness of sins is a joint effort between man and God.

These two positions present two different definitions of the nature of faith. Those who teach monergism define faith as "instrumental." Faith receives, apprehends and appropriates the benefits of the finished saving work of Christ on the the Cross. Alternatively, synergists regard faith as "causative" in that it causes the individual to be "saved."

Some years ago I received an interesting phone call. After identifying myself, the caller simply asked in a somewhat angry tone, "When were you saved?" I responded simply but emphatically, "When Jesus shed his blood on the Cross and rose again." He amazingly responded emphatically, "But you must believe it!" "Wait a minute," I was perplexed, "What did I just confess?" I responded. "You mean when I said that my sins were forgiven when Jesus died and rose again was not a confession of faith?" He paused and considered what I had just said. He proceeded to tell me his story without revealing his name. He was the pastor of a large Southern Baptist congregation in the Atlanta area. He had fallen into sin and was now questioning whether or not he was really saved. He had read my book Christ-Esteem. I assured him that his forgiveness was based on the objective fact that God has saved and forgiven the world of sinners when Jesus died, and that included him. I encouraged him to repent, acknowledge his sin, and receive his forgiveness. After some additional discussion, he said, "Why don't you Lutherans write more books?"

A teenage girl, a member of a church I served in New York City, every year attended a Baptist Summer camp in upstate New York. Before leaving that year, she approached me with a question. It seemed that one of the choruses that was sung around the evening camp fire was "Name the Day When You Were Saved."  After singing the chorus the leader would point at an individual who was called upon to name the day when they went forward, answered the "altar call," and got "saved." Shs said, "Pastor, I know that they might point aat me, and I won't know what to tell them." I said, "Tell them Friday, the day Jesus shed His blood on the Cross for your salvation."

It is important to note that "altar calls,' making a decision to accept Christ and go forward to "get saved" were never a part of the church until the middle of the nineteenth century through the influence of Charles Grandison Finney who taught that revival in the church was not a part of the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit but was determined by whether or not people wanted revival. People choose and make a decision to be saved and born-again. He called people forward to the "repentance bench" where they struggled with whether or not they wanted to repent of their sins and get saved. This was a difficult decision to make since Finney taught perfectionism. He referred to his innovations as "new measures" claiming that fiery preaching mixed with the right amount of emotionalism could prompt an individual to make such a decision and be saved.

Charles Finney is often lauded as a great pioneer of "Evangelical Revivalism." He was Jerry Falwell's hero. He was afforded the titled as the world's greatest revivalist. Billy Graham said “Few men have had such a profound impact on their generation as Charles Grandison Finney. Through his Spirit-filled evangelistic ministry, uncounted thousands came to know Christ in the nineteenth century, resulting in one of the greatest periods of revival in the history of America."

The fact is, Charles Grandison Finney was a renegade heretic. No single individual is more responsible for the distortion of Christian truth in our age than Finney. His "new measures" created the impetus for modern decision theology. Among other heresies, he rejected the biblical teaching of original sin  When it came to the doctrine of justification, Finney wrote, "The doctrine of imputed righteousness, or that Christ’s obedience to the Law was accounted as our obedience, is founded on a most false and nonsensical assumption.” He further stated, Christ “could do no more than justify himself. It can never be imputed to us … it was naturally impossible, then, for him to obey on our behalf.” This doctrine “of representing the atonement as the ground of the sinner’s justification has been a sad occasion of stumbling to many.”

While Martin Luther claimed that the sixteenth century Reformation was fueled by the discovery of justification by faith and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the sinner, Finney referred to that same truth as a "nonsensical assumption"'

I personally loved the Law and Gospel preaching of Dr. Billy Graham, but whenever he got to the end of his message and called for people to make a decision, and the choir sang the emotional "Just As I Am," I cringed. From where do you think Dr. Graham got this revival methodology if not from Charles Grandison Finney. Remember, altar calls and "going forward to get saved" did not exist in the Church until the middle of the nineteenth century. In all the sermons recorded in the Book of Acts, there is not a single instance of people being asked to "make a decision" to accept Christ. The Gospel of the redemption and reconciliation of the entire world of sinners was preached, and the Holy Spirit was trusted to produce faith.

Calvinists Teach:

Those of the Reformed or Calvinist persuasion accept the biblical truth of objective justification but limit the forgiveness of sins and justification to the elect. This is defined as "limited atonement" and is the most controversial and hotly debated point of "Five-Point Calvinism." Some use a play on the words "sufficient" and "efficient" and say that the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ was "sufficient" to forgive and justify the world of sinners, but the "efficiency" of those redemptive acts is limited only to the elect. Rather than using the word "limited" atonement, some prefer to speak of particular atonement as opposed to general atonement which essentially means the same thing. Others speak of definite atonement, which means that God the Father designed the work of redemption specifically with a view to providing salvation for the elect. I thought God designed the work of redemption to reverse the consequences of man's fall into sin as Paul clearly teaches in Romans 5. Perhaps in the whole scheme of things, Adam was elected and Eve wasn't.

Without becoming overtly polemical, I think the idea of a "limited atonement" is rather absurd. Why would God solve the universal sin of Adam with the limited atonement of Christ? Remember, "as in Adam, so also in Christ." It would have been far easier for God to construct a "limited condemnation" for those of the bloodline of Cain fitted for eternal punishment, and an uncorrupted bloodline for the elect through Abel. We could say that the sin of Adam was sufficient to condemn the entire world of sinners but was only efficient for those elected for damnation. Jesus wouldn't have had to suffer and die. Paul answers:"For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all." Romans 11:32 ESV.

A professor at Reformed Theological Seminary defends limited atonement and objects to universal objective justification by saying that if you believe that Jesus death is intended for all people indiscriminately, then, logically, you should be led to universalism – that all men will in fact be saved. If you believe that Jesus died for all men indiscriminately, but his death does not actually accomplish their salvation, this dishonors Christ’s death because it holds that Jesus’ death does not actually secure salvation.

Discrimination is a pejorative term. To say that God discriminated in His gracious plan of salvation is a horrible accusation.

The suffering and death of Jesus secured salvation for the entire world of sinners.  There is no discrimination on the part of God.

This gift of God's indiscriminate salvation through the redemptive work of His Son Jesus is offered to the world of sinners through the means of grace: the preaching of the Gospel and the Sacraments. For a gift to be beneficial it must be received. Faith, produced and strengthened by the Holy Spirit through the means of grace, apprehends and appropriates the benefits of God's gift of forgiveness, reconciliation and justification. The objective justification of the entire world of sinners is certainly not "Universalism."

When the Apostle Paul went out into the pagan Romans world and proclaimed God's indiscriminate salvation through Jesus Christ for the entire world of sinners, many rejected the message and rebuked the Apostle, yet, miraculously, in each city some were brought to faith by the Holy Spirit and received the gift and benefits of the forgiveness of their sins, life and salvation. The Apostle never gave an "altar call" nor ever considered whether or not those to whom he was speaking were a part of the elect.
   

What is the Gospel?

If the message of the universal objective reconciliation and justification of the entire world of sinners is not the proclamation of the Gospel, what is? Must we not tell those who are living in guilt and condemnation that God loves you. Jesus died for you. Your sins are forgiven. God has declared you to be righteous through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is the Good News that is the power of God unto salvation. There are no strings attached to God's free gift. The power of God is not found in the person making a decision or praying the sinner's prayer. It's in the proclamation or the kerygma. Of course, the Calvinist cannot declare that indiscriminate salvation of God to the one burdend by sin and guilt because they don't know whether that sinner is a part of the elect.  That is sad.

The Arminian and Calvinist will ask, "Are you saying that those who wind up in hell have actually been forgiven by God and declared righteous?' Yes! That is tragic. How that must hurt the heart of God for sinners to reject His great salvation and lose out on the eternal benefits. That is sad!

I find it interesting that the debate over the issue of limited atonement is between Calvinists and Arminians with many quotations being thrown back and forth. Yet, no one ever mentions the Lutheran position. The problem is, much of what is written by Lutheran theologians on these subjects remains "in house" through our specifically Lutheran publishing houses and never impacts the wider world of Protestantism. That is also sad.