# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_December 1859_S363
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

A Comparison of Luther with Arndt and August H. Francke in This Regard, etc. 363

helped the man sick of the palsy spiritually in his soul through the forgiveness of sin, namely: "1. Christ must come into his city, into our heart; 2. we must have spiritual bearers, God's Word, the holy prophets and apostles; 3. we must have true faith; 4. we must remain steadfast, letting no hindrance keep us back, but rather breaking through the roof; 5. praying diligently; 6. taking Christ's comfort to heart: Be of good comfort, my son." The second point, however, Arndt does not carry out, but passes at once to an application of the example of the bearers to Christian love, which takes up the cause of one's neighbor; only at the close of the whole sermon does he say: "Finally, this too belongs to the spiritual healing of our souls, that through the preaching office the forgiveness of sins is dispensed, for which reason the people praise God, that he has given such power to men." At this point, however, he breaks off again and is silent about the objective certainty of grace. In the second sermon Arndt comes closer to Luther. There, linking together a chain of evangelical truths, he at last breaks out into these splendid words: "Fourthly, we have here to learn that we should praise God for his benefits, in that he has given to men the power to forgive sins. Whoever sins, sins against God. Tibi soli peccavi — against you alone have I sinned. Therefore God alone must also forgive sin. If he is to forgive it, he must be perfectly reconciled and the sin must be paid for. But since no creature can perfectly reconcile God, God's Son, the most beloved and the holiest, must do it. But if he is to reconcile perfectly, he must bear the sin of the whole world, otherwise the reconciliation is not perfect. But if he has borne the sin of the world, then he has reconciled the whole world, Col. 1:20, 2 Cor. 5:19. And if he has reconciled the world, then he has earned forgiveness of sins for the whole world and for all men. (This is the golden evangelical chain.) And if he has now earned it for the whole world, then he has also had it preached and proclaimed to the whole world, indeed to every creature. This is the general Gospel that is to be proclaimed to the whole world; this Gospel awakens faith. Since he has now commanded this, he will also keep what he has commanded. And therefore the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins is to be powerful in heaven and on earth, on the strength of Christ's merit and command. Therefore it is now God's command, the power to forgive sin on earth. And just as a prince's command is powerful when his envoy declares it in his prince's name, and the prince himself upholds everything promised on his command, in his princely name and seal — so God in heaven upholds what is promised in his holy name, under his holy seal, in absolution and the sacrament. God's hand and seal are in his Word and sacrament. Therefore, when you receive absolution and the sacrament, behold, you then have God's command, God's name, God's seal. And this is the power that he has given to man, John 20:23, Matthew 18:18. Only that you, for your part, bring a penitent heart; for the