# Der Lutheraner_Frankfurt am Main_Januar 1950_S7
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Number 1                                                            January 1950                                                            Page 7

...congregation instructed in God's Word? But many parents let the matter rest there and fail to recognize their own duty, that they themselves should continue to instruct their children in the truths of Christian doctrine. Why did Luther, in his Small Catechism, head every chief part with the words: "As the head of a household should simply set it before his household"? The Catechism ought today to become once again far more a family book, one that parents use to raise their children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. Let us note that in the explanation of the Third Commandment, Exodus 20:10, the heads of households are made responsible for the sanctification of the holy day, where it says: "But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God; on it you shall do no work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant." Even though today we no longer keep the Old Testament Sabbath as it was kept under the Old Covenant, the head of the household is nevertheless still just as responsible before God as before, that his house, his family, rightly hallow the holy day and hear and learn God's Word. One can always clearly see and note in the children whether a head of household is rightly fulfilling this his duty or not.

A family that lets the word of God dwell richly among them, that keeps its regular family devotions — even when there are guests — and that goes to church together regularly — even when it has visitors — is, just like the whole congregation, like a city that lies on a hill and cannot be hidden.

Among Friends

By letting the word of God dwell richly among us in the innermost circle of our own family, we do indeed have the opportunity to bear our personal testimony also before the wider circle of relatives and personal friends and acquaintances. But how often is this opportunity overlooked and neglected! For it happens again and again that one omits the daily family devotion precisely when one has guests, indeed that one even lets oneself be kept from going to church by this, preferring to stay home with the visitors. And this is then often told to the pastor as an excuse for missing the worship service. One no longer even senses that such behavior can become a denial of the faith.

What opportunities we have, precisely within the circle of our own people and relatives, to fulfill our mission task, Holy Scripture shows us through many examples. Let us think of Andrew: "He first findeth his own brother Simon," and brings him to Christ. Philip finds his friend Nathanael. In the Acts of the Apostles we repeatedly hear of those who received the word of God "with their whole house." Lydia, the seller of purple, at first heard the preaching of the Apostle Paul alone. But when the Lord had opened her heart, she was baptized together with her household, and she fervently besought the apostle and his companions: "If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there."

Before Everyone

But if we are faithful in this, that within the circle of our closest relatives and friends we confess our faith without shrinking back, then we may extend the circle of those whom we seek to reach with our testimony, so that we also turn to our neighbors and to the people with whom we are brought together in the places of our profession and our work. There too we are still dealing with people whom we already know; and with such people a conversation about the truth of the faith is always easier to begin than with complete strangers. But these too should be reached. For the Lord, our Savior, wishes to exclude no one from the knowledge of his salvation. "Preach the gospel to every creature," it says, and: "God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."                                                                                                          Hch. Hübener

News from Our Churches

Change of Rectors at the Lutherische Theologische Hochschule zu Oberursel

According to a practice now fixed in the statutes of our seminary, the rectorate alternates yearly between the two Lutheran free churches directly involved in the theological work of the institution. Since for the coming year the Ev.-Luth. Freikirche was to provide the representative for this office, the faculty this time elected Dozent Pastor Wilhelm Oesch as rector, and he was solemnly installed in his office on Luther's birthday, November 10, the traditional date for this appointment. This took place in an academic ceremony in which, following the rectorate report of last year's rector, Kirchenrat Lic. Kiunke (who was represented in his absence by Lic. Laabs), Kirchenrat Dr. Günther, as the current chairman of the seminary's supervisory board, performed the solemn installation of the new rector by a handshake. His address given on this occasion will, we hope, also become accessible to our readers in this paper. Following this, the rector delivered his rectoral address on the theme: "The Tertius Usus (Third Use of the Law) of the Formula of Concord in the Light of the Most Recent Attacks from Lund and Erlangen."

He examined not only the question of the uses of the law in general in connection with the distinction between Law and Gospel, but, while giving all due recognition to Nygren's "Romarbrevet" and to Elert's book "Zwischen Gnade und Ungnade" (Between Grace and Disgrace), demonstrated an antinomian element in both — a volatilizing of the law which in Elert becomes a mere lex talionis (law of retribution), so that only the usus politicus (the law as a curb) remains. This is connected with the broken, Bible-critical stance toward the Old Testament and toward Scripture in general. But then the law is no longer "spiritual" (Romans 7:14) and can no longer truly exercise its office of condemning sin. This, however, undermines the Gospel as the counterpart of the Law, in which, through Christ's vicarious merit and suffering, that is granted in overflowing measure which the Law demands. That without the preaching of the Law the Gospel becomes meaningless and ineffective was the chief reason why Luther contended so mightily against Johannes Agricola and all antinomianism, and demanded the preaching of the Law in the church. Luther's writing to Dr. Kaspar Güttel from the year 1539 was cited. It is a grace of God that the Formula of Concord fixes confessionally the fruit of this struggle, letting all the uses of the Law directed at the Christian apply only against the old Adam, but at the same time upholding precisely the third use, bound up with the spiritual concept of the Law, and thus warding off the fanaticism which presumes to determine for itself what good works are, and on the other hand makes sin out of what is no sin.

May God's Spirit be with the rector also in this new rectoral year, and with all the theological work carried on at our seminary! Unfortunately, the outgoing rector, in order to restore his severely impaired health, has had to take an extended leave in Switzerland. Owing to special circumstances, no other date could be arranged. He resumed his lectures with renewed strength in mid-December.

The winter semester had already begun on November 3 with a larger number of students than in the summer. There are now 36 students from three Lutheran free churches of Germany who are being trained here for the service of the church. The newly entering students came mostly from our Theologisches Proseminar in Groß-Oesingen, which they had attended, after obtaining their Abitur, in order to perfect their knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. It is noteworthy that among them are also two Americans, students of the Lutheran theological seminary of the Wisconsin Synod at Thiensville, near Milwaukee, Wis. The housing and provisioning of the, for us, very large number of students at the institution is a problem that confronts us with great difficulties again this semester. This is all the more the case since the great majority of the students (despite hard physical labor during vacations as working students) are not able to raise all the funds for their studies themselves. Only through the help of fellow believers in America and of our congregations are they able to procure what is necessary. And the seminary itself, too, owes it only to this faithful help, especially from America, that it is able to carry out its so important service.

Enrollment in the summer semester of 1950 is expected, by all estimates, to be even greater.

On this occasion, let heartfelt thanks also be given to our rural congregations, especially in the Lüneburg Heath, for not forgetting us again this year and for remembering us with a large shipment of foodstuffs, above all potatoes and rye. Only through this are we able once again to provide healthy, sufficient food and to keep the cost of our students' board low enough that we can continue to make it possible at a rate of DM 60.— per month.

The finest
Postcard Calendar:

Evang. Wegweiser 1950
with 52 church-picture and monthly-verse cards, weekly calendar, Bible readings, contemporary poetry
only DM 5.—

Reich & Heidrich
Evangelischer Verlag, Hamburg 1