# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S59
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1884. 57

Acts 17:11 tells us of the Bereans: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." That we are here warned to accept nothing untested is quite evident from what has gone before. At the same time we have here also a proof that we are not to test anything by human writings either. For why does the Holy Spirit give the Bereans this extraordinary praise, that they were, as it says in the Greek, still more noble than those in Thessalonica? As the proof of it he says: "They searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." But why does the apostle not say to them: What I have preached to you today you must believe without more ado, for Christ himself appeared to me; otherwise you are fighting against God? Because the Bereans could not yet know with divine faith whether the apostle was inspired. Therefore they tested him first and had to test him first. But by what? By the Scripture of the Old Testament alone, and not by any human writings.

Luther writes: "What need is there to bring forward more passages? All the warnings that St. Paul gives, Rom. 16:13, 18; 1 Cor. 10:14; Gal. 3:4, 5; Col. 2:8, and everywhere, likewise the sayings of all the prophets, where they teach us to avoid doctrines of men, do nothing else than take from the teachers the right and power to judge all doctrine, and with earnest command, on pain of the loss of their souls, lay it upon the hearers; so that they not only have the right and power to judge everything that is preached, but are bound to judge, under the disfavour of divine majesty." (Ground and reason from Scripture that a Christian assembly or congregation has the right and power to judge all doctrine. From the year 1523. X, 1799 f.)

That is truly what one calls a thorough clearing out. The papists say: The priests alone have the right to test everything; to the laity it belongs only to accept obediently what the priests put before them. The reverse! says Luther; God has taken this right from the priests and given it to the laity. A preacher naturally always thinks and says: I have preached rightly. But now it is for the hearers to test whether that is so. Then perhaps already on Monday a member of the congregation comes and says: Pastor, what you preached yesterday on that passage does not seem to me to be right; I cannot therefore accept it. If he is now a true preacher and sees that he really said something erroneous out of human weakness, he will not be angered at the supposed presumption of a layman, but will say: Good, you are right, I will retract it next Sunday. But if the hearer is in error, a true preacher will in all friendliness not only show him this, but also commend him for being unwilling to accept anything untested.