# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1892_S17
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1892. 17

remedy. If he dies, the proximate cause of his death is the contempt of the remedy.

On this point Luther expresses himself thus on John 16: "But here it is not unbelief alone, as planted by Adam in human nature, that is touched upon, but plainly such unbelief that one does not believe in Christ, namely, when the Gospel of Christ is preached that we should recognize our sin and seek and obtain grace through Christ. For after Christ has come, he has abolished before God the sin of Adam and of the whole human race (namely the former unbelief and disobedience) through his suffering and dying, and has built a new heaven of grace and of forgiveness, so that such sin innate in us from Adam shall henceforth not be held under God's wrath and damnation, if we believe in this Savior. And henceforth it shall be said: whoever is damned has no cause to complain about Adam and his innate sin. For this Seed of the woman (promised by God, that he should tread on the serpent's head) has now come and has paid for such sin and taken away the damnation; but he must cry out upon his own neck that he has not accepted this Christ, the devil's head-treader and strangler of sin, nor believed in him. So the danger rests on each one's own person, and it is his own fault if he is damned, not because he is a sinner and worthy of damnation on account of Adam and his former unbelief, but because he will not accept this Savior, Christ, who removes our sin and damnation. It is indeed true that Adam has damned us all, as one who led us with himself into sin and the devil's power; but now that Christ, the second Adam, has come, born without sin, and takes it away, it must no longer damn me (if I believe in him), but I shall be freed from it through him and be saved. But if I do not believe, then that same sin and damnation must surely remain, because he is not grasped who is to deliver me from it. Indeed, sin and damnation become only doubly greater and heavier because I will not believe this dear Savior, through whom I am to be helped, nor accept his redemption. Thus now the whole of our salvation and damnation lies in whether we believe in Christ or do not believe, and the verdict has already finally been passed, which shuts heaven and denies it to all who do not have this faith of Christ, nor will accept it. For this unbelief retains all sin, so that it cannot obtain forgiveness; just as faith removes all sin, and so apart from such faith everything is sin and damnable and remains so," etc. (Erlangen Edition, vol. 7, p. 185 f.)

So unbelief is the only cause that a person remains in damnation. Were Christ Jesus a half Savior, had he not done everything that is necessary for our salvation, then there would still be