# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1892_S21
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1892. 21

say. Not the first, namely that God has not given his Son as Redeemer to the unbelievers; for, to say nothing of the fact that the Savior in the preceding 16th verse expressly testifies that the Father gave his Son to the world, the whole world, which is straightway divided into believers and unbelievers, the not-judged and the already-judged, vv. 17, 18, the Lord says . . . that the unbelievers are condemned for the reason that they do not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son. This expression, however, believing in the name of the only-begotten Son of God, undeniably means nothing other than that a believer confidently takes comfort in the merit of Christ, rendered also for his benefit, indeed in his stead. Now if the unbeliever is already judged and condemned for this, that he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son and does not take comfort in his dear satisfaction, then either the Lord's satisfaction was rendered also for the unbeliever, or it was not made for his benefit. If one were now to say that it is not so, that Christ did not make satisfaction for the unbelievers, but the unbelievers are already judged precisely because they have not grasped in faith the satisfaction of the Son of God, then the unbeliever would be judged and condemned because he would not hold as true, and put his confidence in, what (by virtue of such an opinion) is untrue. To admit such a thing, however, would be far too near an offense against the righteousness, holiness and wisdom of God. So, on the contrary, this must stand firm: the unbeliever is already judged because he would not accept, and grasp in faith, the truth that satisfaction has been made also for him by Christ Jesus.

"No less could the dearest Savior say the other thing, namely that God never willed that those who are lost on account of their unbelief should ever become believers. For that would again be contrary to God's eternal truth, since it says that God and the Mediator are agreed also in this according to their will, that all human beings (compare verses 1 and 2) should come to the knowledge of the truth. . . . But that God, according to his antecedent will, never willed that human beings who persist in their unbelief should believe, this again is powerfully refuted by the words of the Lord. For therein it is said that the unbelieving man is already judged because he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. So one of two things must be so: Either he who is and remains unbelieving ought, according to God's antecedent will, to have believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God; or God's will was that man should never believe. If God has willed that man shall never believe, then man would be judged and condemned because he conducted himself in conformity with God's will and never believed. But that cannot be reconciled with God's attributes,