# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1896_S26
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

26 Proceedings of the sixteenth convention

That the practice governed in God's Word is to be followed everywhere in the Church and for all time also follows from the nature of the Church as the congregation of believers and saints. That is the Church at all times. Whoever defines the Church at any time differently in substance, defines it falsely; he does not describe the Church but some other thing, made up in his thoughts, perhaps the synagogue of the pope, but not the Church of Christ. Now the Psalmist already says of believers: "When you comfort my heart, I will run the way of your commandments." A congregation whose hearts are comforted with the Gospel, which thus hears the Gospel and receives the comfort of the Gospel in faith, such a congregation then also runs the way of God's commandments, also as a congregation, also in its church life as such, also in its church practice. This follows further from the circumstance that the Head of the Church of all times and of all places is one, namely Christ, the one Head of the Church, and this one Head governs the whole body. This one Head determines all the members, and if now this one Head has made known in His unchangeable Word how it is to be kept in His Church, it would mean contradicting the Head of the body if the body did not want to arrange its church life according to this declared will. The Savior says: "My sheep hear my voice"; and as the Church of all times in all places is the congregation of Christ's sheep, so certainly will the congregation of all times in all places, as the gathering of Christ's sheep, hear His voice, also where the voice of the Shepherd is raised with regard to church life as such, with regard to church practice. And this He also says expressly: "They follow me."

With this it is also already given how conformity of practice to Scripture is to be achieved: so that the sheep hear the Shepherd's voice. "Teach them to observe," etc. He does not say: Compel them to observe, but: Teach them to observe. That is the task of those who wish to improve the divinely determined church practice where there are deficiencies. And indeed the preachers, indeed all to whom the command is given: "Teach!" are to exercise this duty, and the congregation, the nations, those who have been or are being made disciples, are to be taught as from God that this is precisely the exercise of the divine command: Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. Not so is one to teach Christians to observe, as at Christ's command, what Christ has not commanded them; but one is to let the Shepherd's voice sound to their ears and hearts and so bring them to observe everything that Christ has commanded His Church in their personal life, in their family life, in their church life, insofar as it is carried on in the narrower circle, and also in church life as such, namely in church practice.

Here Thesis III was adopted.