# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1912_S12
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

12 Proceedings of the twenty-fourth convention

Lutheran Church, if the Christians had kept away from the people who put forward their own word about the Christian Church and the ministry, about conversion and gracious election. In short: avoidance of those who teach otherwise than Christ's apostles, that is the simple and surely effective means, prescribed by God, to remove division in Christendom. According to God's Word, those who teach otherwise appear in the Christian Church, by God's permission, not so that one should side with them but for the purpose that one should avoid them. As the apostle expressly enjoins: "There must be factions among you, that those who are approved may be made manifest among you," 1 Cor. 11:19. Christians must learn this lesson continually from God's Word. But instead of following this simple and effective way prescribed by God, people try humanly devised ways, which only make the evil worse. In particular they try the way of excusing one another from remaining with God's Word in all doctrines. They call that unity which according to God's Word is division!
Against the treatment of those who teach otherwise prescribed in God's Word, several objections are made. It is said: The people who do not remain with God's Word in all points but teach otherwise are, after all, often learned, scientifically educated people, to whom one cannot deny honest intentions either. One must surely have respect for the knowledge and the earnestness and good will of these people. Respect for those who teach otherwise — that is quite truly the signature of our time. This whole judgment is contrary to God's Word. In vain we look in Holy Scripture for respect for those who teach otherwise. As regards their learning and knowledge, the apostle says: "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not abide by the words of our LORD Jesus Christ, he is darkened and knows nothing," 1 Tim. 6:3. Such a person pretends to a knowledge of divine things that he does not have at all, and in self-deception takes his ignorance for learning. And as for noble motives, the apostle says in our text of those who teach otherwise: "Such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly." This does not say that in all cases they are gross gluttons and live in gross sins of avarice and of the flesh. But it does say that in all cases they mean not Christ but themselves, want to set forth not Christ's Word but their own opinion, have in view not the Christian Church but their own glory or their own party. The LORD says: "He who speaks of himself seeks his own honor," John 7:16. That is a mighty word, which we should all take well to heart! Only insofar as someone has no interest of his own but means Christ alone and His Word is he also true and no unrighteousness in him, that is, does he also speak God's word and not his own.
But is the avoidance of all who teach otherwise not an unattainable, ideal state? So men judge; the apostle judges otherwise.