# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1888_S29
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1888. 29

in bonds. Had Timothy now said: what is the imprisoned Paul to me? he would in Paul have denied the testimony of the Lord, the Gospel. He would have refused to suffer not so much with Paul as with the Gospel. Hence Paul also says: "Be thou partaker of the afflictions with the Gospel."

Here belong the well-known words of Luther from his writing of the year 1522, "Von beider Gestalt des Sacraments zu nehmen" [On Receiving Both Kinds of the Sacrament] (E. A. 28, 316 f.): "I see that a good admonition is needed for those whom Satan now begins to persecute, among whom there are some who think they will escape the danger by saying, when one attacks them: I do not hold with Luther, nor with anyone, but with the holy Gospel and with the holy church, or with the Roman church: then one leaves them in peace and yet they keep my doctrine in their hearts as evangelical and stay with it. Truly, such a confession does not help them, and is as much as to have denied Christ. Therefore I ask that they take good care. It is true that by body and soul you shall not say: I am Lutheran or papist; for neither of them died for you, nor is your master, but Christ alone, and you shall confess yourself a Christian. But if you hold that Luther's doctrine is evangelical and the Pope's unevangelical, then you must not cast Luther away so completely; otherwise you throw his doctrine away with him, which you yet recognize as Christ's doctrine; rather you must say: Luther may be a scoundrel or a saint, that does not matter to me, his doctrine however is not his, but Christ himself, for you see that the tyrants are not out merely to kill Luther, but they want to destroy the doctrine; and on account of the doctrine they lay hands on you and ask you whether you are Lutheran. Here you must truly not speak with reed-words [evasions], but freely confess Christ, whether Luther, Claus or Georg has preached him. Let the person go, but the doctrine you must confess. — So also St. Paul writes to Timothy, 2 Tim. 1:8: 'Be not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, who am bound for his sake.' If it had been enough for Timothy here that he confessed the Gospel, Paul would not have commanded him not to be ashamed of him either; not as of the person of Paul, but as of one who was bound for the Gospel's sake. If now Timothy had said: I do not hold with Paul or with Peter, but with Christ, and yet knew that Peter and Paul taught Christ, he would nevertheless have denied Christ himself thereby. For Christ says, Matt. 10, of those who preach him: 'He that receiveth you receiveth me. He that despiseth you despiseth me.' Why so? Because they thus hold his messengers (who bring his word); therefore it is the same as if he himself and his word were so held."

A discussion was here occasioned on the question why