# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1930_S7
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1930. 7

Its practical significance in the life of Christians on earth: 1. Unity of spirit and purity of doctrine condition each other, and likewise 2. unity of spirit and purity of conduct.

"3. How is the preservation of the unity of the Spirit to be accomplished? The meaning of the expression 'bond of peace.' 1. Not the inner peace with God, but the outward peace of Christians among themselves, which binds them to one another. 2. This peace does not stand in opposition to the truth of the Gospel or to the peace of conscience. — Peace is maintained through humility, meekness, patience and bearing with one another. All this can be carried out only by the power which the LORD gives through his Gospel."

For the convention of the Synodical Conference in the year 1908 Dr. F. Pieper of St. Louis again put forward theses on "The Glorious Blessing of Fellowship among Brethren in the Faith." The theses read as follows:

"1. All Christians stand in inner, invisible fellowship with one another, because they all, through the working of the Holy Spirit, believe in Christ as their Savior, and through this faith are joined with Christ as the one Head of the Church, and with one another, into one spiritual body. In this fellowship stand also those Christians who are found in heterodox church bodies (unitas ecclesiae interna sive fidei in Christum).

"2. It is God's will and order that those who believe in Christ in their hearts should also enter into outward, visible fellowship with one another, by joining together, above all, into local congregations in which the Gospel is purely preached and the Sacraments are administered in accordance with the divine Word, and beyond that also acknowledge and treat as brethren in the faith those Christians who confess the true faith in other places (unitas ecclesiae externa sive professionis fidei). The purpose of this outward fellowship is the preaching of the Gospel in the world, the extension of the Church, and mutual refreshment and strengthening in faith.

"3. Because many Christians, out of weakness in knowledge, do not obey Christ's command to hold only to his Word, but contrary to Christ's prohibition enter into fellowship with false teachers, they thereby separate themselves from the fellowship among brethren in the faith ordained by God, and this comes into practice only among those Christians who keep to Christ's order in the Church, that is, who confess the pure doctrine of the divine Word and avoid false teachers.

"4. The sadder it is that so many Christians remain in heterodox camps and thereby help to cause and sustain division and offense in the Church, the more zealously and sincerely should those Christians who by God's grace are in the orthodox camp maintain fellowship among brethren in the faith with one another and carefully avoid every disturbance of it, to the honor of God and to the highest benefit of the world and of the Church."

For the convention of the Synodical Conference six years ago, in 1924, Prof. M. S. Sommer had taken over the leadership of the doctrinal proceedings on the theme "The Unity of the Christian Church." Four theses were before the convention for discussion, namely:

"1. The inner spiritual unity of the Christian Church consists in the union of every Christian with Christ through faith, whereby he becomes a member of the body of Christ, of which all other Christians