# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1879_S16 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 16 The Lutheran Pioneer. his blood. I believed in Jesus and was changed. Yes, it is all God’s grace. I am poor, but Jesus makes me rich. Old Uncle soon said Good-night and left for his home. Sitting at my desk, I heard him singing as he walked down the strect: In my hand no price I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling. Whenever I now hear a drunkard or any other man talk about making himself better by his own strength, I think of Old Uncle and of that word ‘‘rotten’’. I pray God to make such aman feel that he is rotten, and can only be saved and gain strength to fight against sin by faith in Jesus, the Saviour of sinners. 2+ oo One of the Fathers said: ‘A man should be prepared for death the day before, but as he does not know when that day is to be, he should always be prepared.” 2 ~+ ~ (For the ‘‘Lutheran Pioneer’’ by ‘‘Critic’’.) Why are you not a member of the Christ- ian Church?—A Home-Mission Tract. This Tract contains a Dialogue between a Christ- ian and an “Outsider”. The latter, at first, is un- willing to connect himself with the Church, because he considers himself not good enough to be a church-member; afterwards, having been told by “Christian”, that no man is good enough, by na- ture, to be a member of Christ’s church, and that, on the other hand, all men, no one excepted, are redeemed by Christ, he thinks it unnecessary to unite with other believers. ‘Christian’ explains to him that the means of grace, the Word of God and the holy Sacraments, whereby alone the re- demption of Christ or the forgiveness of sins is communicated and given to man, are only to be found in the Christian church; whereupon “Out- sider’, convinced of his-duty to join the church, expresses his willingness to study the doctrines of the Lutheran Church, in order to see, whether it is, as “Christian” affirms, the church where the Word of God is taught in its purity, and the Sacra- ments are administered according to Christ’s in- stitution. Wherever Lutheran Christians have a neighbor or friend of the same turn of mind as “Outsider”, this neat 4 page tract may be of use to convince him of the error of his ways.—Moreover, every one, who buys this tract, will aid a good cause, as “the surplus is to be used in paying an oppressive debt resting on a little mission”. Terms: 1 Copy 4 cts.; 5 copies 15 cts.; 25 copies 65 cts.; 50 copies $1.00; 100 copies $1.90. All Orders to be addressed to Rev. D. Simon, Indiana, Indiana Co., Pa. sorrowful, brother Martin?’’ Luther replied: “Oh, where shall I go to?’’ Staupitz said: ‘‘Oh, you know not how good and necessary such trials are for you. God does not send them to you in vain. You shall see that God wants to use you to work at great things.’ He also once told him that Christ was no painted Saviour, but a real Saviour, not for painted sins, but for real sins. One day when Luther was in great despair an old pious monk came to his cell and com- forted him with those words of the Apostles’ Creed: ‘‘I believe in the remission of sins.” This article he thus explained: ‘It is not enough for you to believe in general that God forgives sins, but you must believe that he for- gives you, you, you. For we are saved by grace through faith.’’ By these words Luther was not only comforted, but his.attention was also called to the sweet truth that we are justi- fied by faith. . In this light he now read the Bible and found more comfort. There were rays of light, rays of the beautiful Gospel-light that broke through the darkness of his soul. But they were only rays, and the darkness often came back again. God was leading him slowly on to the full bright light of the Gospel. He was preparing His instrument for the great work of the Reformation. —_—> ~+o~ Old Uncle. fastings and watchings. When, in his eager study, he had forgotten to say the prayers at certain hours, he would lock himself up in his cell and, without eating and drinking, made up what had been neglected. He so tormented himself that he at one time could not sleep for five weeks. It is also told that once, after missing him for some time, his friends went to the door of his cell and knocked; but there was no answer. They at Jast broke the bolted door open and found him stretched senseless on the floor. They only brought him to life by strains of music, which he so dearly loved. Indeed, Luther could say of himself with truth: “Tt is certain that I was a pious monk, and so carefully observed the rules that I can say, if ever a monk entered heaven by monkery, I shall enter also. All my companions in the cloister who knew me, will testify to this. For if these things had gone on, I would have tortured myself to death with watching, pray- ing, reading, and other labors.’-—And did Luther find comfort and peace by those good works? Oh, no! He was always sad and sorrowful. He himself says: ‘‘With all my masses, prayers, watchings, chastity, I could never get so far that I could say, now I am certain that God is gracious to me, or, now I have experienced that my order and strict life have helped me and Jead me to heaven.’’ In his anxiety he went to confession daily, but there was no comfort forhim. For the papists teach that whoever would get forgiveness of sin, must specify all his sins; but Luther never could know whether he had not forgotten one sinful thought. Nor did the absolution, or pardon of sin spoken by the priest, comfort him; for that pardon of sins was given with the condition that he must himself atone for his sin by good works; and Luther never knew whether he had done enough. Oh, there were terrible struggles in his soul. The Romish doctrine brought him to the most horrible despair. He was not told to go to Jesus as the dear Saviour, but he was told to consider Christ an angry, terrible Judge. In this way he was taught to understand the Bible. He tried to gain God’s grace by good works, but just be- cause he was honest and sincere, he saw this to be impossible. He followed the Romish doc- trine most faithfully, until he learned by experience that it is false and comfortless—‘“‘a well without water’. He, therefore, in after years said, ‘‘A cloister is a hell, in which the devil is abbot and prior, and monks and nuns are the lost souls.’” Our most merciful God did not let Luther All the people in town knew Old Uncle. I shall always remember him. . He was a little eccentric, it is true. He would often stand at the street-corner and sing some song of Zion, while the children gathered around him and listened. But he was considered an honest true Christian. The people told me, If you take Old Uncle to tend to your room, you may scatter gold dollars about the house, he will not take a single one. I never tried this; and there was a good reason for not trying it. I could not have tried it with greenbacks even. But still I always found Old Uncle honest, a true child of God. One evening he came to get his pay for some work he had done for the school. I told him to take a seat, and after talking to him about Luther, whose picture he saw hanging on the wall, I asked him, How is it, Uncle, that you are so different from many others, so that you can always be trusted? This is. what he answered as far as I can remember: It is the Lord’s grace. I lived bad once like many other people. I once thought the Lord had| ‘Tne Lurieran Pronger is published monthly, . payable in advance at the following rates, postage made all the chickens for Old Uncle. I was Included, toovit 6 1 P TERMS: perish amid those terrible conflicts, but sent|not honest then, no! But I knew I was doing 1 Copyerrsessseeeeees ceocncer $ .25 him comfort through his saints, of whom there | wrong and I tried to be better, but I could not. ae a were some hidden even in the corrupt Roman |I then saw that I was bad all over, that I was ne « rotten, rotten to the core, and that God must punish me with eternal damnation. I was afraid to die then. But one day some one spoke to me from the Bible about Jesus, who church. Dr. Staupitz, a pious and good man, the Vicar General of the Augustine monks, who himself lamented the corrupt morals and false doctrine which afflicted the Church, tried to comfort Luther in this great troubles. Atj}came to save sinners. I was a bad sinner, a the table Dr. Staupitz once saw him very sad | rotten sinner, and oh! I was glad to hear that and downhearted, and said: ‘Why are you so| Jesus saves sinners, and washes away sins by All business communications to be addressed to »Luth. Concordia Publishing House‘, M. C. BAR- a Agt., St. Louis, Mo. 7 All communications concerning the editorial de- perement to be addressed to Pror. R. A. BiscHorr, ncordia College, Fort Wayne, Ind. ON age eee) ee Print of the Luth. Concordia Publishing House.