# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1916_S29
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1916. 29

So far we have directed our attention to the enemy whom we have to fight. We have seen what a dangerous enemy it is that wants to rob us of our crown, the most dangerous and bitterest earthly enemy of the true Church of Jesus Christ. We now turn our gaze to the other side and ask ourselves whom God has especially called to fight this enemy. And there we say: It is the true Lutheran Church of our country. It has without doubt quite a special calling to be unceasingly watchful and active against this evil enemy. And why may and must we say this? Because God has given our Church the blessings of the Reformation in full measure, in full streams, and has preserved them to her down to this day in grace, and has thus made her quite fit for this struggle.

To be sure, the blessings of the Reformation are not confined to our Church, as if no one else had a share in them. This great work of God, the greatest without doubt in the history of mankind since the time when the Son of God came to this earth and took on our flesh to redeem fallen mankind from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil, and then sent his apostles into all the world to bring this glad news to all men and thereby to make the nations his disciples: this deed of God, the Reformation through Luther, has had a profound influence on the whole history of the nations and continues to exert it. Not only in the spiritual but also in the worldly, civil field its blessings make themselves felt. Everything that is truly good and useful, everything that has in truth lasting value in our so highly praised modern culture and civilization, is in one way or another a fruit of the Reformation. To it we owe in large part the civil liberty of the civilized nations in the political field, the mighty advances in all branches of human knowledge and ability, in the field of literature and history, etc. Millions and millions of men enjoy these benefits day after day without ever thanking God for them, indeed without even suspecting that these benefits are fruits of the Reformation. Even those enjoy these fruits who hate this glorious work of God and attack and persecute it in word, writing and deed, who represent the Reformation as a great misfortune that has befallen mankind.

All this is true; but the full blessings of the Reformation these people do not enjoy; God has given them to the true Lutheran Church of our country. The greatest, the real blessings of the Reformation lie, as is well known, not in the worldly, civil field but in the spiritual. They are the blessings that God has given to his Church on earth through this work. The blessings of the Reformation in this field also are by no means confined to our