# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S14
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

14   Proceedings of the 19th General [Synod], or

should have peace? — Indeed, what the world calls peace, that we do not
have. With those who start a war there is no peace. As long as they
fight against the truth, they must be our enemies. And yet we have
peace — in precisely the same way and manner that the first Christian
congregation had it, Acts 9:31. The apostolic church, too, had enemies
then, and kept its enemies, and these enemies both had and kept their
great wrath and did what they could to destroy the congregation of God.
And yet Scripture says: "So the church had peace throughout all Judea
and Galilee and Samaria." For he who ruled over it like sun and shield,
and protected it with his right hand, had called out to its persecutors:
Thus far and no farther! That was enough. That gave peace, in the very
midst of strife. And so we too now have peace — peace throughout the
whole land, through all our districts, in all our congregations. The strife
no longer troubles us, not even outwardly, and however many of God's
children there are, they have peace not only with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, not only with their own conscience, but also with one
another, and now, in this matter too, hold fast to one another against all
the enemy's attempts, of one mind and one accord. Is that not something
great?

But it is also no shameful peace that we have, but a victorious one. Not
that our adversaries have declared themselves defeated — which they
might well have done. Not that everyone else has simply come over to
our side. Even the apostolic congregation was not granted that much.
But just as it was for them, so too we now have victory. For only the one
to whom the LORD grants the victory is truly victorious. Before God,
though, the victor and wearer of the crown has always and at all times
already been the one who has withstood the trial and kept the faith. That,
then, is the victory that has been given to us. And oh, how gladly we
wish to content ourselves with it! For this is indeed the only victory that
brings true spoils.

And such spoils have not been lacking either. We know that we have
gained something, for we enjoy it. Holy Scripture, our beloved, studied
and more deeply unlocked in the midst of trial, has become dearer,
grander, and sweeter to us. The confession of our church has once again,
in this very struggle, proven itself the good confession of the faith once
delivered to the saints. Through this, its standing could only rise. We
have only become more confident — content to stand, against the
opinion of all mankind, on the Word of Scripture alone, and to become
fools before the world for the sake of this Word. For a wellspring of
comfort, too, that had been badly choked up, has again been opened to us
abundantly, and has also done its part in making our hearts firm and of
good cheer in the truth. We stand here now more united and stronger
than before.

Now if we consider all this, and reflect how little, precisely,

[On the right margin, faint text from the facing page shows through; not transcribed — see the finds file.]