# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1846 10 13_S23
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Conversion stories, to be sure, are not rare in our days; they are brought before the public in thousands of tracts, so that everyone is almost weary of them and used to them. One might therefore well hesitate to offer something new of this kind. Nevertheless, the conversion of a human being remains a great work of God, which ought not to be passed over in silence — especially when all the circumstances are such as to leave no doubt as to the genuineness of the conversion. For most conversion stories, as they are brought before the public in tracts and the like, leave in the hearts of experienced Christian readers all manner of doubts as to whether it is indeed a true conversion. They generally consist only of a wordy description of the sensations and feelings that took place in the so-called converts, but do not lead back to the foundation of the pure and clear doctrine of the divine Word. All the more, then, do I hope that the following account of what the eternally living Son of God has done in the souls of two girls will fill with joy and praise of God those who look above all to the right foundation of doctrine, and who apply this touchstone to all feelings and experiences, both in themselves and in others. The matter, briefly, is this:

When I was living in Chemnitz (Kingdom of Saxony) in the year 1837, I counted among my relatives there also two young girls, both sisters, of fourteen to sixteen years of age. Their father had died early. They had grown up under the harmful influences of a rationalistic teaching, such as still prevails in Chemnitz to this day in all churches and schools; and as they and the whole circle in which they lived presented themselves to me at that time, I could, according to human conjecture, expect nothing other than that they would fall ever more into the grip of the world, and that Christ would scarcely find access to their hearts. Yet what a merciful and almighty Savior he is, who holds the key to all hearts! Since my emigration to America I had heard nothing of these two girls, except that the younger of them was suffering from an incurable illness. Contrary to my expectation, however — since I stood in no direct correspondence with them — I received last year a short letter from them, which was indeed written with the intention of indicating to me their religious standpoint, but did not let me recognize it with sufficient certainty, apart from a few conjectures which I drew from the remark that they had chosen the sermons of Dr. Wolf (formerly pastor at St. Peter's in Leipzig) as their devotional book, and had found in them a substitute for the Christian fellowship they lacked. In my answer to them I considered it best — since, as I said, their true standpoint was still doubtful to me — to point them to the right foundation of doctrine, and to that end to recommend to them especially Holy Scripture, Luther's Catechism, his House Postils, and the Augsburg Confession for careful reading and study, together with heartfelt prayer for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and also to warn them against the great religious bustle and the sentimental and fashionable Christianity of our days. To this I then received, in August of this year, an answer which I believe I must regard as common property for all who can rejoice over Christ's glorious works, and which I therefore have no hesitation in sending in for the "Lutheraner," in the hope that it will delight many of its readers just as it delighted me. The letter, with the omission of a few incidental matters, reads word for word as follows:

"It was the most urgent need of our heart that moved us to write — the most heartfelt wish to be able, for once, to discuss with a faithful servant of the Lord the most important matters of the soul, and to set forth and talk over our religious conviction. As ardently as our heart longed to become well-pleasing to God, so unknown to us was the order of salvation, that is, the means of becoming so; as deep a reverence as we had for every word of the Bible, so little did we understand it. But God has helped, and although we still stand on the lowest step of faith, we nevertheless have a confidence of growth in it; we read Holy Scripture with new understanding and also possess several writings which can help us advance in it. Among these is also a work published by the Reverend Pastor Meurer in Callenberg, whom you recommended to us: "Luther's Life," which became a rich source of instruction for us. Then several writings by Dr. Franz Delitzsch of Leipzig (now professor of theology in Rostock), which are: "Lutheranism and the Kingdom of Lies," "The Sacrament of the True Body and Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," "A Little Treasury of Spiritual Epigrams and Rhymed Sayings for Every Day of the Year, for the Awakening, Exercise, and Furtherance of the Life Hidden with Christ in God." It is the unshakeable adherence to the fundamental doctrines of our holy church, the deep reverence for every word of Holy Scripture, the strict censuring of the false doctrines now generally prevailing, the gentle, moving, yet urgent pleading and admonishing to strive after the One Thing Needful, to press on toward the goal set before us, which holds forth to us the heavenly calling in Christ Jesus — it is this that instills in us a sincere high regard for him and his writings. A rich treasure of spiritual experience also came to us from a writing of the year 1731, containing: The Blessedness of a Believer in Union with His Savior Jesus Christ, from Romans 8; further: The Surpassing Knowledge of Jesus Christ; also several other writings of orthodox theologians. We have procured the Augsburg Confession for ourselves, but we have not been able to obtain the other works you recommended; we hope, however, in the near future to buy Luther's complete works, in which the ones mentioned are surely also contained . . . . . Sometimes we have already asked why our dear God has given us no like-minded people at all, no friend, male or female, who shared our religious conviction, and have indeed often complained that we met with nothing but contradiction; but on this too we have been given clarity: he wishes, through our dealings with unbelievers, to test us in our faith. Through earthly distress and affliction he has awakened it in us, and through continued testing he wishes to strengthen us in it; we thank him with a moved heart for both. Yet up to now we have only written what God has done for us — ah, and it is infinitely much — but not what we have done, for this, alas, is very little. Almost hourly we feel ourselves unworthy of the grace we have received from him, for the old man will not yet vanish, and Christ still gains no form in us; yet we do not despair, and though our courage sometimes grows small, still he does not forsake us entirely; then we turn again and again to the right source, to Him, and so he shows himself gracious again and again, makes our hearts glad, and gives them the firm confidence that he who has begun the good work in us will also bring it to completion. With this we wish to close our letter, etc."

Chemnitz, June 19, 1846.

Rosalie and Henriette L.

May this letter, through God's grace, also wholesomely awaken and encourage those who, despite the full and rich enjoyment of the means of grace, of the pure Word and the pure Sacraments, nevertheless do not increase and grow, but remain sluggish and cold, and do not value the immeasurable treasure they possess. For they will surely bear a heavy responsibility, when such as are, so to speak, in the wilderness, where they must entirely lack the care and pasture of the holy divine preaching office, nevertheless come to a living and powerful knowledge of Jesus Christ, and, through faithful use of the grace bestowed on them, advance from one step of faith to another. "So the last shall be first. For many are called, but few are chosen." Sch.

Luther on the Perfect Sanctification Which the Methodists Claim to Be Able to Attain, and Partly Claim Already to Have Attained.

"We do not preach thus concerning the Holy Spirit and his office, as though he had already fully accomplished and completed it, but rather thus: that he has begun it, and it is now continually underway, that he drives it on more and more, and does not cease. Therefore you will find no such person who is without sin and without sorrow, full of righteousness and full of joy, and who freely serves everyone. For Scripture does indeed tell what the Holy Spirit does — namely, that his office is to redeem from sins