# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1872_S43
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 43 —

what declaration the Synodical Conference [*Synodal⸗Conferenz*] makes with regard to the reproaches which the Iowa Synod makes against them, that they had upheld universal justification, the answer was given: This doctrine is stated outright in the passage Rom. 5:18, and it is therefore not merely a biblical doctrine but also a biblical expression that the justification of life has come upon all men. Only a Calvinistic exegesis could explain this passage to mean that only the elect are justified. Orthodox older theologians of our Church, too, therefore speak of the universal justification, obtained and offered for all. Gerhard says that Christ's resurrection is the universal absolution; absolution, however, is nothing other than justification.*) In Christ the sinful world was condemned to death, and in His resurrection this same world has been declared righteous. When now the preacher absolves, he distributes a treasure that is already at hand, namely the forgiveness of sins already obtained. If the treasure were not at hand, no preacher could absolve, indeed we could not speak at all of the justification of the sinner through faith, for to believe means to receive what is there. If the world were not already justified, then believing would have to mean performing a work toward justification. The whole preaching of the Gospel, however, is a message from God of a righteousness that is already obtained before Him and is there for all. Therefore the statement that in Christ the justification of the whole world has already taken place has nothing captious about it, but is also entirely biblical. Those who say that God has made the whole world righteous but has not declared it righteous actually deny thereby the whole justification again, for the declaring righteous by the Father cannot be separated from the making righteous by the Son, since He raised Christ from the dead. To be sure, all this does not yet help any man to the possession of righteousness and salvation if he does not also accept the justification. When a king pardons a crowd of criminals, they are all, so far as the king is concerned, acquitted of guilt and punishment, but whoever among them does not accept the pardon must go on paying for his guilt; so it is also with sinners in the justification that has taken place through Christ's death and resurrection. Indeed, if God had not written and sealed the letter of pardon, we preachers would be liars and deceivers of the people when we told them: Only believe, and you are righteous; but now that God, through the raising of His Son, has signed the letter of grace for sinners and furnished it with His divine seal, we can preach with confidence: the world is justified

*) The Formula of Concord says: "We believe, teach and confess that, according to the manner of Holy Scripture, the word 'justify' in this article means 'absolve.'" (Art. 3. p. 528.)