# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1904_S9
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1904. 9

as we enjoy it in absolution, that we do not give everywhere. We have the authority; it is our authority, the Church's authority, the authority that Christ has given to His Church on earth, to forgive the penitent sinners their sin, which He gave to it when He breathed on His disciples and said to them: "Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them." "Be of good cheer, my son, my daughter, thy sins are forgiven thee!" To speak thus to unbelievers and the impenitent means to give the holy thing to the dogs and to cast the pearls before the swine. We do not speak so to those who corrupt the Gospel with both doctrine and life.

So Father Luther also understands it. He writes: "What shall we do about it? You shall not, says Christ, cast it before the swine and dogs. Yes, dear Lord, they already have it. For since it is a public sermon and poured out into the world, we cannot prevent them from falling in and snatching it to themselves. But they do not have it for that reason, and we will, thank God, well prevent them from getting the holy thing; the shells and husks they do have, that is, the carnal liberty; but this shall be prevented, that no dog or swine, be he a Scharrhans [boor], miser or peasant, get a single letter of the Gospel, even though he read all the books and hear every sermon and fancy he understands it exceedingly well. Therefore this is the art in the matter, as Christ here teaches: when we see such a swine or dog, that we separate ourselves from them, as we do with the fanatics, and have no fellowship with them and give them no sacraments, impart to them no comfort of the Gospel, but show that they shall enjoy nothing of Christ, our treasure. When we do that, we have taken the pearls and the holy thing from them finely. For no Scharrhans or peasant, enthusiast or fanatic shall have the Gospel or Christ unless he first ask me about it and hold with me, that I say Yes to it, or any proper preacher." (St. Louis ed. [of Luther's works], VII, 597, §§ 38, 39.)

We turn to Matt. 5:23–24. There it says: "Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way first, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." The meaning is clear. When you offer your gift on the altar, when you appear before the face of God to thank Him, to attend the service, to call upon His name, to receive the holy sacraments, and there remember that your brother has something against you, that there is something between you and your brother, then clear it out of the way before you enter into communion with your God. The LORD speaks here of the necessary reconciliation, but with "something against thee," τὶ κατὰ σοῦ, shows