# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1872_S64
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 64 —

has hit, bound or loosed, or thinks so carelessly: Oh, if it hits, it hits; he blasphemes God, denies Christ, tramples the keys underfoot, and is worse than a heathen, Turk or Jew. Likewise does he also who is bound or loosed, where he does not believe, doubts or esteems it lightly: for one should and must believe God's words with complete earnestness and with all confidence. Whoever does not believe, let him leave the keys in peace; he might otherwise rather be with Judas and Herod in hell: for God will not be slighted by our unbelief. It is truly not everyone's business to use the keys well. Again, whoever believes, or at any rate gladly wants to believe, that the keys are certain, let him be joyful and use them confidently. You can do God no greater honor in His keys than by believing them. Therefore we teach our people thus: Whoever is bound or loosed by the key should believe such binding and loosing so certainly that he would rather die ten times than doubt it. It is God's Word and judgment, to which no greater dishonor can be done than by not believing it. Which is as much as to say: God, you lie, it is not true what you say, I do not believe it, and so God must be a liar. Just as certain should he be also who binds or looses; or he is guilty of the same abomination. Where, however, has one ever taught or heard such a thing in the papacy? Yes, if it had been taught, the missing-key and his companions would never have come up, these two keys alone would have remained fine and pure. How many bishops and officials are there who use the keys so? They do not believe that what the keys judge is God's Word; they are simply accustomed to it, as to an old worldly custom. But if they were to think that it was God's judgment, which they themselves would first have to believe, on pain of their souls' salvation, they would not deal with it so carelessly, but with trembling and fear." (XIX, 1126. 1172. 1175. ff.)

Thesis 9: "The means by which alone man comes into actual possession of the gift of grace obtained through Christ and presented in Word and sacrament is faith, which believes the promise of grace of God and thus appropriates to itself the gift of the merit and righteousness of Christ offered in this promise of God, and comforts itself with the benefit of Christ as its sin-remover and Savior."

To this there is a precious passage, Rom. 4:16: "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed." Herewith the Apostle Paul testifies that faith is not some condition that must be fulfilled on our side if we are to become partakers of the salvation which Christ has obtained for us; no, he means to say, when God demands faith of us, He does not thereby say: My Son has indeed done enough for you and redeemed the world, but now you must also do something; on the contrary it is so: Because we have quite nothing