# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1888_S6
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

6 Proceedings of the twelfth convention

By God's grace we know the right, Christian unity willed by God, the unity in faith. To remind ourselves of it and to encourage ourselves to preserve it is the purpose of the theses laid before you. They read as follows:

I.

By unity in faith we understand agreement in all articles of the Christian doctrine revealed in Holy Scripture.

II.

This unity in faith is possible, because all articles of Christian doctrine are clearly revealed in Holy Scripture.

III.

This unity in faith is willed by God, because God both commands the believing acceptance of his whole revelation and strictly forbids every departure from it.

IV.

The necessary outward testimony to unity in faith consists in this, that those who stand in unity of faith acknowledge one another as brethren in the faith.

V.

Those who stand in unity of faith should cultivate this as an exceedingly glorious gift bestowed by God's free grace, with all diligence, and seek to preserve it.

Thesis I.

By unity in faith we understand agreement in all articles of the Christian doctrine revealed in Holy Scripture.

Thesis I is meant to express what we Lutherans understand by the unity in faith that God wills. The more detailed proof from Scripture that this definition is the right one will follow later (especially under Thesis III).

In Thesis I the question is not answered, as is well worth noting: How much of the revealed divine truth is absolutely necessary, in order that a person may still come to saving faith at all and be preserved in it? We Lutherans do confess, indeed, that even in heterodox communions, that is, in communions which do not conform to the Word of God in all articles of the revealed doctrine,