# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_April 1863_S120
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

120 What the Apostles Say, and What Christ the Lord Says, to Our Catechism Controversy.

—civil matters, so it also confirms liberty, the powers of masters, and servitude. For this purpose similar testimonies concerning masters and servants must be applied from Paul, in refutation of the fanatics who would abolish the powers of masters, the rights of property, servitude, and similar civil ordinances. And without doubt, at the beginning of the Church some poorly instructed persons held similar convictions, as though men ought not to be burdened with servitude. Hence the servants grew unruly. Therefore Paul repeats the more often the commandment concerning servants, and adds that they should not bring the Gospel into disrepute — because when men heard that through the Gospel civil relations were being dissolved, they took fright and the Gospel was reviled. The godly must also take care to guard themselves diligently against such occasions of offense." (In epist. Pauli ad Tim. Argentor. 1540. p. 257. 8.)

Martin Chemnitz, the well-known, incomparable second Martin of our Church, after having in his Loci set forth the passages of Scripture in which the duties of masters are described, continues thus: "The duties of servants, however, are described the more carefully, because their condition was very hard, and it seems unworthy of the Christian confession that those who have been made free by Christ's blood should be oppressed by men with the servile yoke. Paul therefore sets forth the obedience of servants in such a way that he first leads them to the thought that servitude has not been imposed on them by chance or through unjust human power, but that God himself has apportioned the callings in this manner. They are therefore to submit themselves to their masters for the sake of God's will, and — since that same God has, through that calling, in some measure contracted out their labor to their masters — not to doubt that God accounts their service as rendered to himself." (Loc. th. II. 64.)

What the Apostles Say, and What Christ the Lord Says, to Our Catechism Controversy? *)

"Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him

*) Our dear Röbbelen, though ill and wretched, sojourning in his native land, has nevertheless not been able to refrain from taking an active part in the controversy that broke out there. He has, in a series of essays, taken up the word for the truth and against the loudly rising error, partly in, partly for, the Hildesheim Allgemeine Zeitung. These articles he has now sent us as a token of life for his brethren here, and has given them the general title above. We share them here with our readers, both for their objective and for their subjective worth. Röbbelen accompanies the sending with the following letter: Gronau on the Leine, October 23, 1862. Honored friend! Herewith a small sample of the strange mixture of the most heterogeneous elements that the state churches of our day furnish. A little scraped from the bell gives it fully