# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_August 1860_S225
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Lehre und Wehre.
Volume VI.    August 1860.    No. 8.

Instruction Against Doubt of the Divine Word and Its Truth.
(From Dedekennus, Thes. Cons. et Decis., Hamburg 1623.)

Doubt of the divine Word and its truth seems indeed, to those who are assailed by it, a hard and heavy struggle, which deeply grieves them and others on their account; but so far as the matter is rightly examined at its root, it is no cause for grievous sorrow, but rather for Christian joy, and those who fall into such thoughts may rightly count themselves fortunate people. For this temptation is, alas, common to all men, but conceals itself so well (in the heart) that it is noticed by few, and so the greatest multitude bears the fault and yet does not feel it, and therefore is unable to seek counsel and comfort against it, which is greatly to be lamented.

Who lives among all Christians in the whole world who at all times trusts the holy Word of God throughout, in everything, wholly stiff and firm, without any wavering or contradiction of his flesh, perfectly? Let each examine himself for his own person, and whoever will examine himself, of him it is not to be doubted that he will complain of his weakness, faintheartedness, and imperfection, and yet will not think that he thereby doubts God's Word and its truth, but will rather deny and excuse it. But let such a one go further, and consider rightly that not to doubt God's Word and its truth requires that man perfectly trust God's Word, as just now touched upon, in all ways without any wavering, resist himself in earnest, and wholly and utterly, like a true knight, overcome all faintheartedness, timidity, or the like: if he has not done this (as indeed no man in the world will ever be able to boast of having done perfectly), then he bears this defect, that he does not regard and trust God's Word in its divine truth as a divine truth, since otherwise, as has been said, no faintheartedness or mistrust would ever be in him. This the holy man of God, Luther, laments most grievously (vol. 9, p. 520), where, taking the glorious saying, John 14:24, from Christ's own mouth, he sets it down: The word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me, and writes further upon the same: Who believes that? It is true,