# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1896_S28
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

28 Proceedings of the sixteenth convention

and just confess of themselves that in this matter they lack what they ought to have, and what they ought to strive for. It is a very dangerous thing that one wants to tolerate perverse practice. Perverse practice is not to be tolerated but to be combated, and combated on all paths and along the whole line, wherever one can. There never comes a time when the fight against perverse practice may cease. Perverse practice, to be sure, like false doctrine, is accustomed at first humbly to ask for toleration; but it does not intend to stay there. The next thing it demands is recognition, even if recognition in second place. The next thing it claims is equal recognition, and what it finally claims is sole recognition. That is the way which false doctrine and practice are accustomed to traverse, and only when it has sole recognition is false practice content, like false doctrine too. And so the right, divinely prescribed practice, like pure doctrine, takes the right position only where it is solely authoritative, as soon as we have to do with what is governed in God's Word. As doctrine alone is doctrine of the Word of God insofar as it appears as pure doctrine, and deserves to be recognized as pure doctrine only if it is doctrine of the Word of God, so it stands with practice.

But now another objection is made to us. It is said: Your demand goes too far when you require that those with whom you wish to stand in fellowship of faith and church should also stand rightly in practice; you go too far when you, while rightly treating false doctrine as church-dividing, also treat false practice contrary to Scripture as church-dividing; that doctrine must be pure, and indeed pure as gold, is right, but life is indeed defective in personal Christian life, and will also remain defective in church life, in the life of the Church and its members; and therefore you reach too high when you set up practice also as a test of church membership, of fellowship of faith. To this we answer: If we could, according to God's Word, concede this to you, how gladly we would do it! Indeed, more: on the day on which you show and prove to us from Scripture that we go too far when we treat also all stubbornly maintained practice contrary to Scripture as church-dividing, may God preserve us from the sin of refusing you church fellowship on this ground; then we will at once confess: We have sinned, sinned grievously, all these long years, in that we have denied you brotherly fellowship, church recognition.

But they will refrain from proving this to us; rather we shall remain with this, that the stubborn adherence to false practice is church-dividing. For our Savior says: "Whoever confesses me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, him will I