# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S17
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1884. 17

kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence." — But on that account one does not throw away the whole precious book; rather here the rule holds: "Do not despise prophecy. But test everything and hold fast what is good." God the Lord knew well why he made no one any more so infallible, so unerring, as the prophets and apostles. Because then we would give nothing more for the written Word of God, but would say: There is the man, he is infallible, I accept him. No, among the teachers of the Church I am to keep my eyes well open and be able to say: the teacher has not merely said so, but he has proved it to me from the Bible; where he does not do that, I do not follow him.

Luther writes about this as follows: "If the Fathers were men, then they will at times also have thought, spoken and done as we think, speak and do; but they must (like us) pray the dear blessing: 'Forgive us our debts, as we forgive,' etc. Especially since they did not have such a promise of the Spirit as the apostles, but had to be the apostles' disciples. If the Holy Spirit had been so simple that he had had to be careless or trust that the Councils and Fathers would make everything good and not err, it would have been needless for him to warn his Church against them, that one should test everything and see where one would build straw, hay, wood on the foundation, 1 Cor. 3:12. In order that he might prophesy, neither secretly nor feebly, but openly and mightily, that in the holy Church there would be among them wooden, strawy, hayey builders, that is, teachers, who nevertheless remain on the ground or foundation, would well take damage through the fire, yet must be saved. Which cannot be understood of the heretics. For these lay another foundation; but those remain on the foundation, that is, in the faith of Christ, are saved and are called God's saints, yet have hay, straw, wood, which must burn through the fire of Holy Scripture, though without harm to their salvation, as St. Augustine says of himself: 'Errare potero, haereticus non ero: I may err, but a heretic I will not become.' The reason: heretics not only err, but will not let themselves be set right, defend their error as right and fight against the known truth and against their own conscience." (From Councils and Churches, of the year 1539. XVI, 2663 f.)

1 Cor. 3:11 f. says, namely: "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it. For it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If