The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1931, Page 4

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4 THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

religion of the Dark Ages. Will we not profit by
their example? Let the Church lose its sense of
missionary obligation, and its heart will soon be-
come cold and its spiritual life stagnant. Just as
the pond breeds corruption, while the running
stream keeps pure and sweet, so the Church will
seem to die and lose almost all its power in the lives
of men if once it loses its interest in bringing the
Gospel to others.

God gives His Holy Spirit to them that obey
Him. Now, then, can we obtain the promise if
we do not obey the command “Go ye and teach all
nations”? The Church has no right to look for
the Lord’s promised presence unless it gives evi-
dence of its missionary obedience. Spiritual health
and growth can only be expected where the mis-
sionary spirit is found.

God has not yet forsaken us; the preaching
from our pulpits has not yet lost its savor nor its
missionary ring; the Sacraments have not become
a mere matter of form and ritual; there are yet
those among us whose heart has not become cold;
the brains of not all among us are using their
agility to find an excuse for our Church’s not doing
its missionary duty; we have not reached the stage
where we are wasting our powers in idle and fruit-
less controversies, nor have we settled into the
torpor of the Eastern Church. But while we so
far graciously have been preserved from all signs
of demoralization, let us not forget: No Church
and No Individual Can Stand Face to Face with
Plain Duty, Such as the Missionary Duty, and
Habitually Ignore It without Certain Demoral-
ization.

The progress of the Church has always been in
proportion to its missionary spirit. Whenever the
Church became worldly, self-indulgent, indolent,
unwilling to bring sacrifices, and disobedient to the
Lord’s missionary command, then it invariably de-
cayed. On the other hand, whenever the Church
has betokened missionary obedience, then spiritual
life, power, and growth were apparent.

God from eternity hath willed
All flesh shall His salvation see:
So be the Father’s love fulfilicd,
The Savior’s sufferings crowned, THROUGH THEE.

F. J. L.

Luther Conference.

Luther Conference met for its mid-winter ses-
sions at Trinity Chapel, New Orleans, La., on
Thanksgiving morning at nine o’clock,

_ After the devotional services a paper was read

by Teacher A. V. Berger. His subject was: “Good
Works.” The essayist showed that we are saved
solely by grace, through faith in the wounds of
Jesus, but that good works as performed by the
child of God are the proof of his faith. Good works
therefore are not done to merit salvation, but are
merely a consequence of faith, which children of
God cannot but produce. Good works in the Chris-
tian show that he is mindful of his duties as a
Christian. This timely paper aroused such a lively
interest that the afternon session on Thursday and
also the morning session on Friday were devoted to
its discussion, with much benefit to all. A vote of
thanks was given to the essayist.

The afternoon session on Friday was devoted to
business.

On Friday night Holy Communion was cele-

Trinity Chapel, New Orleans, La.

brated. Prof. Paul Scherf of Luther Preparatory
School delivered the confessional address, based on
Matt. 25,1, which was followed by the regular ser-
mon, preached by Pastor Le Cron. He used Phil. 1,
1—12 as his text and urged all workers in the
Lord’s cause to give thanks to God for their fellow-
ship in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by continuing
to preach the everlasting Gospel of Christ, which
alone can bring salvation to a sin-cursed world. He
also urged that we as workers in the Lord’s vine-
yard make diligent use of that Gospel lest we also
lose this precious gift of God as other countries that
were blessed with it, but have permitted rationalism
and other isms to rob them of the precious gem of
the Gospel as preached and believed by the prophets
and also by the Synod of the Lutheran Church.
May the rich spiritual blessings that were poured
out at this conference be felt throughout all our
churches on this field to the glory of God and the
salvation of many souls! _ E.R. Bercer.