# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S184
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

184   Doctrinal Proceedings of the 19th General [Synod], or

fault the plain wording of Scripture because it seems to conflict with other words of God. Our Confession demonstrates this from the conduct of believing Abraham toward the word of God, when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. To Abraham the word came: "Take Isaac, your only son, whom you love, and offer him as a burnt offering." These words of God to Abraham ran, as our Confession says, not only against divine and natural law, but also against the high article concerning Christ, for it was in Isaac that Abraham's offspring was to be named. And now Abraham was to kill Isaac! Abraham might well have found a "tolerable, gentle gloss" for the words of the command, to make them more acceptable. But no — he let the clear words stand as they read, and left it to God to see how the two words of God would be reconciled. That was faith, simple faith, such as should be found in Christians toward the word of God. But let us hear the Confession itself. The relevant passage reads thus in the Formula of Concord: "Abraham, when he heard God's word concerning the sacrifice of his son, even though he had good reason to dispute whether the words — since they conflicted openly not only with all reason and with divine and natural law, but also with the high article of faith concerning the promised seed, Christ, who was to be born of Isaac — should be understood according to the letter, or with some tolerable or gentle gloss: nevertheless, just as before, when the promise of the blessed seed out of Isaac had been given him (though it seemed impossible to his reason), he gave God the honor due to truth, and concluded and believed most assuredly within himself that God can also do what he promises: so too here he understands and believes God's word and command simply and plainly, just as it reads according to the letter, and leaves it committed to God's omnipotence and wisdom, which he knows has far more ways and means of fulfilling the promise of the seed out of Isaac than he can grasp with his blind reason. So too we should, with all humility and obedience toward our Creator and Redeemer, simply believe his clear, firm, plain, and earnest words and command, without any doubt or disputation as to whether it agrees with our reason or seems possible. For it is this LORD who has spoken these words, who is himself infinite wisdom and truth, and who can most certainly also carry out and accomplish everything he promises." (M. S. 656.)

The only correct procedure, then, for staying on the right path, is this: to let the statements of Scripture stand and to accept them as they read. And this holds for the professor of theology just as much as for the practicing pastor. For it has been thought that the latter might well be allowed to simply hold to the statements of Scripture and the Confession without concerning himself with reconciling them;