# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1882_S12
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:10.) "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." (Jer. 13:23.) "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." (Ezek. 36:26.) "O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear?" (Isa. 63:17.)

As to the contradiction of the Confessions by Prof. Schmidt's doctrine, we recall only the following passages from the second article of the Formula of Concord, "Of Free Will, or Human Powers." After the point of difference between the doctrine of the synergists and their opponents has been stated there, it continues: "To explain this dispute in a Christian manner according to the guidance of God's Word, and to settle it by His grace, is our doctrine, faith and confession, as follows: That is, that in spiritual and divine matters the understanding, heart and will of the unregenerated man can by their own natural powers understand, believe, accept, think, will, begin, accomplish, do, effect or co-operate in absolutely nothing, but are wholly and entirely dead to what is good and corrupted, so that in man's nature after the Fall and before regeneration there is not a spark of spiritual power left or present with which he could prepare himself for God's grace, or accept the grace offered, nor be capable of it of and by himself, nor apply or adapt himself to it, or by his own powers contribute anything to his conversion, either in whole or in half or in the least and smallest part, help, do, effect or co-operate of himself, as of himself, but is the servant of sin, John 8, and the captive of the devil, by whom he is driven, Eph. 2, 2 Tim. 2. Therefore the natural free will, according to its perverted nature and character, is strong and active only toward that which is displeasing and contrary to God. ... From this it is evident that the free will, by its own natural powers, can not only do or co-operate in nothing toward its own conversion, righteousness and salvation, nor follow the Holy Spirit, who offers it God's grace and salvation through the Gospel, nor believe, nor give its yes to it, but out of inborn, evil, stubborn character is hostilely resistant to God and His will, where it is not enlightened and governed by God's Spirit. Therefore also Holy Scripture compares the heart of the unregenerated man to a hard stone, which does not yield to him who touches it but resists, and to an unhewn block and a wild untamed beast. ... Since man the cruel