# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1892_S33
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1892. 33

darkness of his unbelief and lets him perish." Page 555 (12): "The cause (namely of the damnation) is that they either do not hear God's Word at all but willfully despise it, harden their ears and their heart, and so bar the ordinary way for the Holy Spirit, so that he cannot have his work in them, or, when they have heard it, again cast it to the wind and do not heed it; therefore not God or his election but their wickedness is to blame."

Also in the case of those who are lost who did indeed come to faith in Christ but afterward ceased to hear God's Word, or, even if they went on hearing, hindered the working of the Holy Spirit by sins in doctrine and life, guilt of their own can be demonstrated. For these suppressed not only the natural knowledge of God but also the testimony and impulse of the Holy Spirit in them; they denied the truth they had recognized, despised the heavenly joy they had tasted, did not make use of the new life and new powers imparted to them. As the Formula of Concord also says (page 713): "Thus many receive the Word with joy, but afterwards fall away again, Luke 8. The cause, however, is not as though God were unwilling to give the grace of perseverance to those in whom he has begun the good work, for that is contrary to St. Paul, Phil. 1, but the cause is that they willfully turn away again from the holy commandment, grieve and embitter the Holy Spirit, entangle themselves again in the filth of the world, adorn again for the devil the lodging of the heart, with whom the last is worse than the first."

With those who do use the means of grace and yet never come to faith, the guilt often lies in the fact that they do not hear properly. "Take heed how you hear," the Lord admonishes his disciples, "for whoever has, to him shall be given, and whoever has not, from him shall be taken even that which he thinks he has," Luke 8:18. Many of Jesus' hearers heard his parables, but they did not care to understand them, they did not ask the Lord for their interpretation. But the disciples asked the Master to explain the parables to them. Jesus answered them: "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to others in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand," v. 10. The Lord gave them the explanation they wished and then added the words above, from which it follows that the right way of hearing consists in listening with diligence and with the intention to learn. If therefore someone pays only half attention, is indifferent whether he learns anything or not, we human beings too must charge it to him as guilt. Others, who do pay attention when preaching is done, also do not come to faith. They do not even come to proper contrition over their sins. "Through the law comes