# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1888_S31
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1888. 31

is it, when one considers it rightly, terrible to err, even only out of weakness, in some articles of Christian doctrine and in this weakness to strengthen the fellowship of those who deny parts of the divine truth, indeed denounce them as error. It is terrible even only through ignorance to be found in the ranks of those who attack, oppose, indeed persecute the confessors of the divine truth. An example is St. Paul. Although Paul had persecuted the confessors of Christian truth out of ignorance, it nevertheless pained him so much, when he had come to knowledge, that he said: "I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" (1 Cor. 15:9). The Christians in the heterodox communions are therefore to be pitied, in that in ignorance they stand against the divine truth. Every Christian who finds himself in the orthodox church should thank God that he has led him into this communion, and he should daily plead with God that he preserve him in this communion and not let him fall into the communion of those who deny parts of the revealed divine truth.

Next: even in heterodox communions, as we concede, people can still be saved, but not in so far as God's Word is falsified and denied there, but in so far as essential parts of the divine truth are still taught there and the Holy Spirit with great faithfulness preserves the souls, so that the errors preached alongside do not drive out faith. All false doctrine works deadening, destructive, hindering effects with regard to spiritual life. Every church communion, in so far as it leads false doctrine, is a pernicious sect. How, e.g., the Christians among the Methodists are tormented by the Methodist false doctrine of the marks of the state of grace! Quite otherwise in the orthodox church. Here the souls have only furtherance on the way to life, so far as church fellowship comes into consideration. Here the Law is preached in its whole sharpness, and so the souls are here rightly humbled. But here also the broken hearts are rightly raised up again and filled with constant comfort, in that the Gospel of the general, free grace of God in Christ is proclaimed unadulterated. Here the souls are not pointed to their own worthiness but directly to the grace of God, which Christ has won for all sinners and now offers to all sinners through the means of grace, so that only faith is needed to possess grace and salvation and to become certain of the state of grace. It is thus only in the orthodox church that the souls are so cared for as God wants them to be cared for.

Further: because in the orthodox communion all false doctrine, every departure from God's Word, is punished with all earnestness, the