# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S47
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1884. 45

equal, and they stayed with them even after Christ had fulfilled all types and thereby abolished them. When Paul now comes and shows them that those commandments have no obligation any more, they become anxious and afraid whether they would also do right to follow the apostle. Hence the apostle too deals so gently with them. So it now fares many a one in our controversy too. Perhaps he formerly heard and believed nothing more of the election of grace than that God elected those of whom he foresaw that they would be converted and be faithful to death. And now he hears all at once that this is not right, that namely election is an election of grace alone, while on the other side the opponents cry: That is Calvinistic! Then it happens to true Christians that they become quite uneasy and that a voice says in them: What? should our teachers really have fallen away and perhaps want to make us Calvinists after all? Then it is a matter, dear brethren, of taking your Bible in hand and diligently testing our doctrine by it. You are not to believe a word from us, your teachers, until you have recognized that Holy Scripture also so teaches. But when you have found our doctrine in the Bible, you will then confidently and joyfully say Yes and Amen to it and also remain by it, though others, however dreadfully, decry this doctrine as Calvinism, whether out of malice or in blindness. If you stand on God's Word in this mysterious doctrine, then even the most cunning objections of reason will make no impression on you. How did it go with Luther? Even when he had a Bible passage and had to say: there it stands, he could not always lay hold of it at once. Rather, the thought also often came to him: perhaps you are in error after all, until he was at last so enlightened by God's Word that he was now divinely certain: so and not otherwise can it be. Through such a struggle every Christian must pass, and he becomes divinely certain only when he remains standing on the Word alone.

The strongest argument of the papists against Luther was: You are alone wise, look at the Fathers, they are all against you; it is devilish pride that you want to be right against them alone. With such thoughts the devil plagued Luther heartily at first.

Luther therefore writes also against the Zwinglians: "Their" (the Zwinglians') "pretext" (namely, that the words in the Supper: 'This is my body' must mean: This signifies my body) "has an appearance, has also a great following of all who are esteemed learned, in all of German land, for reasons which I know; but they lack one thing: that they do not yet know how hard it is to stand before God without God's Word; presumption and wantonness cannot act otherwise than as they act." (Opinion on the Colloquy, in the year 1529. XVII, 2355.)