# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S11
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1884. 11

differently give it to them than we poor latecomers. Indeed, he fared with the Zwinglians exactly as we do today with our Synergists. When Luther spoke of the Lord's Supper, they leapt to the doctrine of the Ascension or of Christ's return, so that Luther had to call out to them: We are speaking now of the words: This is my body! So it is also with our opponents! When we speak of the election of the children of God, they speak of the general counsel of grace, of justification and of being saved through faith, etc.

Gerhard's last words are also important. For according to them a hearer is not to think at once, when his pastor on one occasion gives a different exposition of a passage than he has read in a good book: here my pastor teaches falsely, — provided only the exposition is in accordance with the faith. Then he can at most say to him: Your doctrine, Pastor, is indeed right, but it does not stand in this passage, as you think, but in another; assuming, that is, that the latter is really the case.

A second proof text for our Preliminary Remark is 1 Cor. 12:7: "To each one the gifts of the Spirit are manifested for the common good." A precious passage! — The only necessary gift for Christians, enough to get into heaven, is faith. If he has more gifts, this is, as it were, something extra for others, whom he is to serve with it in love. And the apostle says: "In each one for the common good." So all gifts are there for all Christians. But what follows from that? — That it is a dreadful sin to despise the gifts; for the Holy Spirit has given them to me and to you and to all; each is to use the other's gift for his own benefit. Therefore whoever says: I have enough in my Bible, away with you and your Luther, thereby betrays only his great blindness. What? Have you not yet noticed what gifts of the Spirit are in Luther, also for your benefit? Or do you think the Holy Spirit will equip you in the same way as Luther?

But all this now holds also of all orthodox and gifted teachers of the Church. What God has given in gifts to godly teachers over 1800 years and, by his great goodness, has preserved for us in their writings, that no one should despise. If he does so, he does not regard God, who commands him this in Scripture. And such a man will, instead of seeing ever more brightly, become ever blinder. As Luther, in his blunt way, speaks of the lazy churchgoers or spiritually proud despisers of the holy ministry who say: I have my Bible at home: You are reading the devil onto your own head if in doing so you despise the ministry instituted by God; and he adds that such people also as a rule do not read God's Word at home, or if they read it, only to their ruin; it becomes to them, as the apostle writes, a savor of death unto death.