# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1846 06 27_S88
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

other writings as well, to harsh expressions, as when he said: confessional — seat of Satan, pit of hell — which caused so much uproar; although from that very same writing, where these words stand, the preceding and following context show clearly enough that he was speaking thereby not of the thing itself, but of its abuse." (Theologische Bedenken, II, 143–144.) That this is so can also be clearly demonstrated from other writings of Schade's. It says, among other things, in his tract "What Do I Still Lack?": "The world is full of cunning; it steals absolution out of the mouths of preachers. The preacher's forgiveness is God's forgiveness. Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them (John 20:23). This stands firm. This forgiveness is God's forgiveness. This forgiveness is nourished by, and grounded in, faith." (See Schade's Writings, I, 130ff.) — So then, although the Methodists do not even have the honor of being the first to fight against the power, given by Christ to his church, to forgive sins on earth, they nevertheless have no faithful servant of the orthodox Lutheran Church as their champion, but only wretched fanatics, manifest heretics (founders of factions), and rationalists.

On the Inner Impulse to Preach.

(See Schinmeier's Preservative against the Spiritual Pestilence of Children, p. 22ff.)

Instead of the necessary call (to the preaching office), many claim an inner impulse, alleging that this is sufficient for it. For the spiritual priesthood, in which one Christian is to be edifying and improving to another, no extraordinary call is necessary, because it already exists, e.g. 1 Thessalonians 5:14. If someone finds himself awakened and driven to this by the good Spirit, he may and must do it. But to reform the whole church, or for a similarly important work (such as the preaching office), a credential (an authorization) from the Lord of the earth and Head of the church is certainly required. Otherwise anyone, today or tomorrow, could set himself up for great things and merely claim an impulse. Because there are two kinds of spirits, there are also two kinds of impulses, and they must therefore be carefully tested and distinguished. Not all impulses that fall upon good things are for that reason from the Holy Spirit. There the tempter urged the Lord Jesus in the wilderness to make bread out of stones, to leap from the pinnacle of the temple, etc., for the good purpose that people might acknowledge him to be the true Son of God. Yet although this was indeed the purpose of all his miracles, he did not follow this impulse, however good it might have seemed. We are therefore not warned in vain, Malachi 2:15: Take heed to your spirit. Why? — Because it is full of false impulses, which tend to be the more dangerous the more glittering they appear.

They object, however: the impulse rests on love for the souls who are not being led to the Savior — a love given by God, not to the (Lutheran) preachers, but to them; consequently they would have to follow the impulse, unless they wished to sin. Answer: Very well; but this must without doubt grieve God more than it does any man, for the souls are his, not ours; and he is also more able to lead them to his Son than we are — indeed, he has no absolute need of us for this. But if he wishes to use us for it, he will call us to it and make us fit for it. Some congregations sin so grievously against a faithful teacher and against the divine gracious call that has gone out to them, that God, according to his punitive justice, finds no better remedy than hirelings and deceitful workers. Nevertheless, the Lord still knows how to preserve the souls of such congregations who wish to be saved, so that they do not perish. But if so great and sanctified an impulse is found in the heart to heal the breaches of the church and to bring about improvement, one can act on it in due order, in one's own place (station and calling), since there will be plenty for all hands to do there. For the rest, one waits in patience until the Lord himself arises to sweep his threshing floor and to bring about improvement through sufficient means and equipped instruments. So we rest with the people of God when the pillar of cloud stands still; so we go, as it breaks camp and goes on ahead! Otherwise we run our own ways, and the impulses are not impulses of the Holy Spirit, but of our own fickle spirit. Thomas Müntzer, at the time of the Reformation, had before his eyes the corruption of the priestly estate. He found within himself an impulse to remedy this evil and to care for the poor peasants both spiritually and physically. Luther warned him, but he followed his impulse, which he held to be divine, and wanted to reform without a call, without having the means and the ability. But in the end and outcome he had to learn to his horror that it was his own spirit that had driven him, in a cause and purpose otherwise seeming good.

Testing Those Who Boast of the Spirit.

There have come before me myself, writes Luther (so that I confess my own experience here), many and various spirits, who indeed tempted me with great, excellent words to lead me onto another path, and at times presented things so plausibly that I nearly stopped short at them, and had I not been on my guard, I would well have been led astray. In this I could do nothing else, in order to remain undeceived and to put down such devilish specters, than what the prophet David also teaches, Psalm 119:105: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" — namely, to run to this light, which teaches me what God's will is, and to hold it up against the spirit-mongering of such chatterers and boasters, to see whether it agrees with the sure doctrine of the Ten Commandments and the faith of Christ. Where I did not find this, I soon dismissed them, and, boldly following Christ's admonition concerning evil, worthless fruit, judged and banished them as a rotten tree. Do likewise yourself, and hold fast only to the sure test for judging all doctrine — namely, whatever is God's Word and commandment — so you cannot err or go wrong, and you will strike down all the boasting and pretensions of all such spirits. For Christ, with this saying — where he says, "Not everyone who saith unto me, Lord, Lord, but he that doeth the will of my Father" — directs and leads us solely to his Word, so that we may know that those are the right fruits which conform to it. (Church Postil, 8th Sunday after Trinity.)

Paid: Volume 2, Th. Schiefferdecker (2 copies). First half of Volume 3, Wesel.

Luther's House Postil, the first American edition, excellently produced, is available bound for $2.00, in paper covers for $1.50.

From Mr. Ludwig and W. Radde in New York;
C. L. Rademacher, in Philadelphia, Pa.;
the Reverend C. Spielmann, Columbus, Ohio;
Pastor Wyneken, in Baltimore, Md.,
Pastor Walther in St. Louis, Mo.,
Dr. Sihler in Fort Wayne, Ind.,
Pastor Boyer in Buffalo, N.Y.,
P. J. George & Co. in Detroit, Mich.,
P. J. George & Co. in Milwaukee, Wis.

The Kirchenzeitung in Pittsburgh and the Lutheran Standard in Columbus, Ohio, are requested to reprint the above.

Antiquarian Bookshop.

The undersigned hereby takes the liberty of announcing to lovers of older Lutheran devotional and other books that he has put on display, at his premises, at the lowest possible prices, a by no means insignificant collection of such writings.

St. Louis, June 9, 1846.

F. W. Barthel,
South Second Street, No. 52,
immediately next to Mr. Tschirpe's pharmacy.

Here, too, the copies of Luther's House Postil ordered through the editor may be picked up.
D. H.

Printed by Weber and Olshausen.