# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1882_S75
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 75 —

some to hell. And that is presented as a dreadful thing. That is truly remarkable! One must surely have the right here in the Lutheran Church to cite Scripture and to say: So and so it stands in Scripture! — when it stands so. One would then have to take up the same accusations against Scripture too, as if it were on a crooked path and did not rightly teach salvation from grace. No! Such arguments make no impression on people who think a little. Scripture must stand firm. — We know very well that we obtain our salvation alone by grace for Christ's sake. But we also know that works are there as witnesses of what is in our heart, as Scripture says: Show me your faith by your works; — and that works come into consideration only as testimony of faith or unbelief. But Scripture does use such an expression, that works are the cause why God sends one this way and another that way. And in this sense every Christian must have the right to use these words. He need not be afraid if he speaks with the words and in the sense of Scripture. Perhaps I should not speak of this matter here at all. But it is done so that something may at least be said about the main thing, namely about the doctrine of the divine Word. Perhaps I should not have engaged in this."

To this a Norwegian delegate replied: "I am very glad that there has at last been an opportunity, if only briefly, to discuss this matter here in the Synodical Conference. But this is clear to me from the outset: we can talk with Pastor Muus the whole week and longer without result unless we first of all agree on whether we are talking about the same thing or not. This is evidently not the case here. The concepts of election of grace from which Pastor Muus argues are different from those from which we proceed; and the 'report' on which we are deliberating is therefore also read by Pastor Muus quite differently from the way it is meant and written. — Pastor Muus has appealed to Scripture, namely to Matt. 25. In it he thinks he finds a proof — of what? — of his assertion: an election 'intuitu fidei' is not contrary to God's Word. Well then, let us look at it! Pastor Muus must necessarily, unless he has spoken altogether senselessly, reason thus: 'On the last day judgment will be passed intuitu fidei. What happens in time has been in God's counsel from eternity. Ergo such a judgment, which will take place on the last day, has taken place from eternity in God's counsel.' This is what, according to Pastor Muus, is designated by the 'misleading' expression 'election of grace.' — We speak here of an election in the sense of Scripture and the Church; Pastor Muus, speaks of something that he calls 'election,' which, however, Scripture and the Confession, to my knowledge, never call 'election.' He thinks he does not know