# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1872_S22
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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these words in Scripture, what forgiveness of sins is, what faith, what grace, what righteousness is, they have shamefully befouled this noble, highly necessary, most principal article, without which no one will recognize Christ, and have utterly suppressed the high, precious treasure of the knowledge of Christ, or what Christ and His kingdom and grace are, and have miserably robbed poor consciences of such a noble, great treasure and eternal comfort, on which so much depends." These words we must repeat in our own time. Not only did the papists at that time shamefully befoul this fountain of salvation, but all the sects that have arisen since the Reformation have done the same again. Of course many no longer believe this nowadays. But we must resist with vigor the unionism of our time, since people are so easily led to believe: In the doctrine of justification we are surely at one with the Methodists, Presbyterians, etc., even if admittedly not in the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, of the Person of Christ, etc. We must testify that no shadow of the right doctrine of justification is found in the doctrinal systems peculiar to the sects. To be sure, they too utter the words: We are made righteous by grace alone through faith; but hardly have they said so when they point man to his repentance, his struggling and striving, his holiness, and it comes to light that they want to bring man into heaven by his own effort after all. But whoever does that takes from us the divine light that alone can still shine for us in the sin-night of this world and leaves us in dreadful darkness. Therefore: "From this article nothing can be yielded or given way, though heaven and earth and whatever will not stay should fall. For there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved, says Peter, Acts 4:12. And with his stripes we are healed, Isa. 53:3. And on this article rests everything that we teach and live against the pope, the devil and the world. Therefore we must be quite certain of it and not doubt, else all is lost, and pope and devil and everything wins the victory and the right against us." (Smalcald Articles, Part 2.) These words we should all be able to recite by heart. Because of this article the pope calls us heretics, and the sects say, when we preach it, that we hinder conversion and make people secure. They are therefore right against us as soon as we yield to them in this article. The Formula of Concord says in the article on justification: "This article of the justification of faith (as the Apology says) is the chief of the whole Christian doctrine, without which no poor conscience can have any steadfast comfort or rightly recognize the riches of Christ's grace, as also Dr. Luther has written: Where this one article remains pure on the field, there Christendom also remains pure and fine, harmonious and without any factions; but where it does not remain pure, it is not possible that one resist any error or fanatical spirit."