# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1906_S22
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

22 Proceedings of the twenty-first convention

He works in them faith in the Gospel, namely faith in the forgiveness of sins which Christ has obtained. That is the first thing, the original. Luther expresses it about thus: The article of justification is that which alone makes the Church and establishes its unity, and nothing else. After the Fall men are far from God and have made all sorts of attempts to return to God. All heathen religions are such attempts, and they all lie on the one line of the law. All the heathen want to earn God's grace by their own works and so come into the heaven devised by themselves. But all these attempts are in vain. The heathen remain far from God; those who deal in works of the law are under the curse. Christianity, however, reveals to us a different way. It says we men are not to come to God at all, but according to His wonderful, eternal arrangement He comes to us through His Son, and the latter obtains grace for all men. Now God meets us with His covenant of grace, that all men are reconciled. Thus the connection between God and men is established solely and alone by men's believing this message of their reconciliation with God. Therefore faith in the Gospel is the element which constitutes the Christian Church. Only after this follow, conceptually and in fact, love and hope. These also the Holy Spirit alone works, but only in those who believe the Gospel. Luther says: Everyone who does not have this faith: I believe the forgiveness of sins for Christ's sake, is either a Jew or a Turk or a papist. But all who are incorporated into the Christian Church are so through faith that they have forgiveness of sins without works and without their love.

The Essayist.

The one Church of God is the communion of saints, of all true believers who are founded in faith on Jesus Christ. This we do not see here on earth. In the world, especially in our time, Christians are scattered in the various church bodies, and not only in those that belong together, but also in those with whom we are not united in doctrine, where, however, the Gospel is still preached and through this preaching true faith is worked. That belongs to the imperfect form of the Church on earth. Even where Christians are united in doctrine, all kinds of imperfection show themselves outwardly in faith, hope and love, which could lead to the unity in the Spirit being disturbed as well. But our position now is that we also speak of a true visible church on earth and look for it with certainty where the Word of God is preached purely and clearly, and where Christians teach harmoniously according to God's Word and administer the sacraments according to God's Word. That follows from the fact that