L01: Walther (and Luther) on the Law; everyone bound by "natural law"

      It has been universally acknowledged that the lectures of C. F. W. Walther that were assembled into the book The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel (or Law & Gospel) were an American masterpiece on the subject. Even Dr. Robert Kolb acknowledged this (p. 54) while at the same time being critical. So when I ran across a brief essay without an author's name in the 1861 Western District convention report (text DE, EN) on the subject of "the Law", I wondered that it was Walther who authored this piece. Why? Because the old Missouri Synod recognized that it was highly favored to have such a spiritual leader as Walther. (I am identifying the author as Walther until someone can provide evidence to the contrary.) And he was the obvious choice to handle this subject. What better teacher can there be to teach "the Law" than one who, since the days of Martin Luther, best distinguished it from the Gospel? (One can certainly rule out Artificial Intelligence to do the job!) — 

      Because of its importance, I have uploaded the original German text of this Western District essay to the Internet Archive here. After researching this short essay, it was discovered that a much expanded version was published later that same year (1861) in Lehre und Wehre, in 2 parts (November and December). The expanded portion was filled entirely with quotations from Luther's writings. There are 26 references to Luther.

      Upon reading this essay, one is immediately introduced to the subject of "natural Law". This was also the subject of a book of essays compiled and published by CPH in 2011 with the title Natural Law: A Lutheran Reappraisal (Internet Archive copy). These were authored by an eclectic group that amazingly included ELCA and NALC (Marianne?) writers, ones who cannot teach a "Lutheran Reappraisal" because of their deviation from Lutheran doctrine in critical areas (e.g. Forde). There may be informative essays by some authors, such as Prof. Roland Ziegler on “Natural Law in the Lutheran Confessions” (p. 65 ff.), and Dr. Korey Maas, who stated (p. 226):

"A culture hostile to Christianity was, and is, incredibly unlikely to assent to any truth claim predicated on peculiarly Christian presuppositions".

But one can better avoid spiritual confusion when one rather learns first from the father of the Missouri Synod, and the Reformer, Martin Luther. — We begin our learning in the next Part L02. (The full text file will be available at the end of this series.) 

- - - - - - - - - - - -  TABLE OF CONTENTS  - - - - - - - - - - - - -

L01—This introduction: Walther and Luther on the Law

L02—Part I: 1., 2. What part of the Law now binds everyone? Natural law.

   L02a Excursus: Luther on Slavery: "revolting"; "inequality"?

L03—Part I: 3., 4. Reformed vs. New Testament on the Law

L04—Part I: 5., 6. Core of Ten Commandments & Christian freedom

L05—Part II: 1.  The Golden Rule: misconception #1

L06—Part II: 2.  The Golden Rule: misconception #2

L07—Part II: 3. Love is the master of all commandments

L08—Part III: 1. Law, the unchangeable will of God, indelibly written in the heart of every man

L09—Part III: 2., 3. Law shows our sin, even for true Christians

   L09a Excursus: False charges by LCMS: Walther a Pietist? (Eggold–Piepkorn–Pelikan; Wohlrabe,  McCain)

L10—Part IV: 1. Preaching of repentance from the law precedes that of Justification; Eggold's 2nd criticism 

L11—Part IV: 2., 3. Proper distinction of Law from Gospel

Franzpieper.com is going away after 25 years; here's a copy

      Due to rising costs, I have decided to end the publication of franzpieper.com. That publication was a cry to the world of modern Lutheranism, especially today's LC–MS, that when they turned away from Dr. Pieper, they went away not only from his teaching, but away from Lutheranism and, in some cases, away from the Christian faith. I have noticed that at least one Wikipedia page referenced that old website that I produced and paid for 25 years ago… I recollect that I wanted to end the 20th Century with a tribute to, and defense of, this great Lutheran teacher, so the original date would be in the timeframe of late 1999, about 25 years ago. I notice that the page was first archived by the Wayback Machine on June 8, 2003. It has since been captured 79 times and should be available for as long as they keep going. —  Another notable tribute to Dr. Pieper was to publish what I called his "Last Words for his Missouri Synod" on my blog.

      When the webpage goes dark on or about September 13, it will probably be taken up by some casino or some nefarious outfit, as is the common practice by Internet hounds trying to get clickers who land there to click on some scam. Be careful! — Also the email address that I originally used for reader correspondence will be deactivated:  "postmaster@franzpieper.com". Correspondents should only use the Gmail account in the future: "BackToLuther@gmail.com". 

      The following is an exact copy of that webpage as it was when it first appeared in 1999. This blog post will be uploaded to the Internet Archive for safe-keeping:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Franz August Otto Pieper-

The 20th Century Luther

 

Martin Chemnitz has been called the Second Martin, referring to his defense of the doctrines brought to light by the reformer, Martin Luther. C.F.W. Walther has been called the American Luther, clearing away again all hindrance to the glory of the pure Gospel. Now there stands one who cannot be passed over in the lineage of great Lutheran teachers. The place was St. Louis, Missouri, America but more importantly, the doctrine was Lutheran.…. Christian.

The President of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis from the time of C.F.W. Walther’s death in 1887 to the time of his death in 1931, Pieper held the most visible position among orthodox Lutherans during this period. He also held the position of Synod President during a portion of this time. But it was his teaching that makes him stand out. As the 20th Century draws to a close, a survey of all those who were in teaching and leadership positions within the Lutheran Church in American and the world, shows one who stands out - Dr. Franz August Otto Pieper. He taught as the overriding doctrine of Scripture to be the universal/objective reconciliation/redemption/justification of the world. Now it remains for Dr. Pieper to take his place. The Lord knows this epithet will remain.  I confess - no one has pressed the kingdom of heaven into my lap more firmly than Dr. Pieper.

After his death, there began considerable controversies over the doctrines as written in the Brief Statement of 1932. In discussions with other American Lutheran church bodies, it was notably the doctrine of the universal will of grace and universal justification that brought contention and actual scorn.

The Norwegian Merger of 1917: A False Charge

This is perhaps the saddest part of this essay. It involves St. Louis professors and also a later Missouri Synod President. It involves the Synod that requested the essay on Justification at the first meeting of the Synodical Conference - the Norwegian Synod (now known as the Evangelical Lutheran Synod).

Rev. Theodore A. Aaberg of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (Norwegian Synod) in his 1968 book A City Set on a Hill offered an evaluation of the question regarding the advice given by the Missouri Synod professors F. Pieper, W.H.T. Dau, and T. Graebner (pgs 274-282). There would be no question in this matter except the leaders of the Minority then joined the Majority in union with the United and Hauge Synods in 1917 and further said one thing and those who gave the advice said another. The leading spokesman for the Missouri professors was Franz Pieper.

C.K. Preus was the son of the first president of the Norwegian Synod and president of the Synod’s seminary at Decorah, Iowa. I.B. Torrison was a Synod pastor. During a meeting of the Minority pastors of January 17-18, 1917 at the West Hotel, Minneapolis, they said "the letter meant that the ‘Minority’ should not separate itself from the Norwegian Synod but stay and bear witness to the truth and continue so to do as the Synod merged with the other bodies" (J.C.K. Preus, The Union Movement.., p. 9) In this same publication, J.C.K. Preus stated: "One deplorable result was the charge made by a few ‘Minority’ men to the effect that Preus and Torrison had not reported correctly the advice given by the St. Louis professors". C.K. Preus (and J.C.K. Preus, his son) in effect charges Dr. Pieper with giving conflicting advice, between the December 28, 1916 personal meeting and the January 9, 1917 letter. The following is the letter:

Letter of Jan. 9, 1917:

St. Louis, Mo.,
Jan. 9, 1917.

Dear Prof. C.K. Preus
Pastor I.B. Torrison
Decorah, Iowa

Dear Brothers:

                We send you, according to your request, the written record of the decision which we arrived at on Dec. 28th during the conversations you asked for.

Concerning the matter which you laid before us, the question is not whether the Minority should enter into the situation as it now is developing in the Norwegian Synod- something we could not advise anyone to do. But the question is whether or not the Minority is compelled for conscience’ sake to step out of the Norwegian Synod, or whether circumstances are still such that further witness for the truth is your duty. Our opinion is:

                1. Since it is admitted by the Union Committee that the insistence of the Minority that thesis I of "Opgjor" be eliminated is in agreement with the Scriptures and the Confessions,

                2. Since the Union Committee has openly declared that the expression in Thesis IV of "Opgjor" ("the sense of responsibility in regard to the acceptance or rejection of grace") is to be thus understood, that God alone is the cause of acceptance, man alone the cause of rejection,

                3. Since silence is not imposed on the Minority, but rather freedom of speech is expressly conceded in regard to "Opgjor",

                we believe that the time for the Minority to sever its connection with the Norwegian Synod has not yet come, but that it is much more your duty through your witness to the truth in the Norwegian Synod, if God wills, to bring about its complete recognition.

Respectfully,
[Signed] W.H.T. Dau
F. Pieper
Th. Graebner

This charge is false.

Graebner letter of 1938:

the charge was again made in later years after Pieper’s death by one of the St. Louis professors, Theodore Graebner. The charge is made in a letter by Professor Graebner to Dr. Nils Ylvisaker on November 12, 1938, which follows:

                                                                                                                November 12, 1938

Dr. Nils Ylvisaker

425 South Fourth Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Dear friend Ylvisaker:

Pff3: Old Missouri republishes Pfeiffer (another BTL book)

      This concludes from the previous Part Pff2 (Table of Contents in Part Pff1) in a 3-part presentation of the old Missouri Synod's reprint of August Pfeiffer's influential book Lutheranism Before Luther [WorldCat]. — The well-known encyclopedic German Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) article writer downplayed Pfeiffer's polemics stating (translated): "By far more important than his polemical and ascetic writings are Pfeiffer's works on exegesis, criticism and hermeneutics of the Old Testament." Judging by his own polemical writings, Pfeiffer may disagree with this biographer's judgment. — The ADB writer also said this in 1887 about Pfeiffer and his book:

"In 1679 he took a stand against the “fundamental questions against the Lutheran religion” spread by the Jesuit Arnold Engel with his treatise “Lutherthum vor Luther” (Lutheranism before Luther), published several times and recently reprinted."

When one searches WorldCat for the versions that were "published several times", one finds that all of these were in the 17th and early 18th centuries, indicating how popular this book was back then. But then came a long period of inactivity until the later part of the 19th century when the publisher of old Missouri Synod literature resurrected Pfeiffer's work with its "recently reprinted" version in 1872. WorldCat does not have a record of this "recently reprinted" publication, as reported in the ADB of 1887, but my upload to the Internet Archive has made it available for use to the public. And thanks to its quality of print and updated orthography, and to the tremendous advancement in machine OCR and translation, I have been able to present this book in an English translation to a much wider audience. 

Notes on this translation: 

• In this publication, Latin phrases are used frequently, but are many times followed by an inline translation making it much easier for machine translation into English. Even so, in the many footnotes there are no inline translations of the Latin, so I inserted the Google Translate text in many cases. Unfortunately this machine translation of Latin is at times choppy and not always easy to follow. 
• A "Table of Contents" with hyperlinks was added to greatly enhance navigation and understanding.
• Every page number is linked to its respective page in the original publication for ease of comparison and review.
• It should be noted that there is a play on the word “Engel” which is both the Jesuit priest's name and the German word for “angel”.
• The section on pages 194-216 was unclear to me at first as to who was writing, Pfeiffer or Father Engel. After reading it, it appears to be Engel's sarcastic mocking of Pfeiffer, perhaps putting words in his mouth, a typical tactic of papists. There are copious footnotes on each page which were clearly written by Pfeiffer refuting the points made by Father Engel.

If this translation is too long or too difficult to digest, I suggest reading the 38 page Preface to get a general idea of what these Lutherans were facing in the 17th century. — The following is my partially polished machine translation, with navigational and reference links added:

The file may be downloaded >> here  <<; the German text file here.

Even with the choppiness of the text, it is my hope that the clear passages will provide the reader with at least a general idea of the underhanded tactics used by the Jesuits, and how this faithful Lutheran scholar firmly defended the truth. As Walther says (Pff1), you "will not regret it".

Pff2: Evangelical doctrine, “defend to the death”; Harrison a “deceitful peacemaker”?

      This continues from the previous Part Pff1 (from April) (Table of Contents in Part Pff1) in a 3-part presentation of the old Missouri Synod's reprint of August Pfeiffer's influential book Lutheranism Before Luther. — If there is one quote that stood out to me above all others, it was this one in Pfeiffer's Preface, page 3:

 “As long as the Pope remains Pope and we Evangelicals remain Evangelicals, a reasonable person can easily see that no religious settlement can be hoped for between us, that deceitful peacemakers are not to be trusted, and that it is best to defend the truth to the death, as God wills.”

Compare this with LCMS President Matthew Harrison's comment in his Preface to his translation of Walther's Church & Office:

“As I perused the Catechism of the Catholic Church for contemporary documentation of positions of the Roman Catholic Church which Walther addresses and which are the object of Lutheran polemic, I noted numerous points of remarkable convergence of Lutheran and Roman Catholic doctrine on the Office of the Ministry. While we must reject what is false, we can also joyously note what is right—no matter who says it.”

Would it not be fair to say that Pfeiffer would call Pres. Harrison a "deceitful peacemaker"? — Let us hear more from our dear Pfeiffer:

Notable Quotes:

5: "Where one Pope decrees contrary to the other, one of the two must necessarily err in his decree"

6: "popes have often in their decrees…run directly counter to the revealed Word of God"

17: "they invoke the authority of the Church" over Christ and the Apostles.

24: "so the wine that is not partaken of sacramentally, but is poured out carelessly, is not Christ's blood, but only mere wine"

30: "the one against whom the following writing is directed, namely a Jesuit, Fr. Arnold Engel…has copied his entire work from others, has not yet read our writings properly, has not examined the passages from Luther and others himself" [A common practice of papists in their polemics.]

33: The papists' "great following does not harm the lies and our small following does not harm the truth".

36: Jesuit Jacob Reihing "turned from a zealous champion of the Roman Church into a staunch confessor of the evangelical doctrine"

37: Papacy "like a rotten fish".

44: "since they [papists] have no intention to proceed in the main controversy, to make a diversion…and to lead us away from the Scriptures". 

44-45: "this Antichrist is none other than the Roman Pope [regarded not as a single person, but as an ever-living enemy in many successive persons]" [See this blog post.]

50: "so it is enough that I know and prove that the Pope, as he now is, is the Antichrist, … even if I cannot specify, know or point out the year and day when he first became so."

55: "is it not enough that we show the papists their gross errors from God's infallible Word…?"

59: "the pope's growth …is seen for the first time in Victor as a child or child in the womb, in Boniface III as an adolescent or boy, in Leo III as a youth…, in Gregory VII as a man, and in Leo X as an old man"

67: Fr. Engel "claims that if the papacy were…not from God, it would not have stood for so long"

70: "One must therefore distinguish the papacy, i.e. the falsifications of doctrine…from that which has remained good under the papacy."

77: "…but therefore the Papists are as little catholic as a quack is a doctor".

77-78: "Father Engel…wants to insist on the everlasting succession,…from one bishop to another… It is enough that the faith remains in the divine Scriptures and in some people's hearts at all times."

81: "This question: whether before Luther there were Lutherans or Christians of the same mind or faith as Luther? …has already led many a man to fall away and fall into hell".

84: "if we now speak of doctrine,… all orthodox believers before Luther were certainly in agreement with Luther in the fundamentals of Christian doctrine".

89: "it of no help to the papists that they object that all other heretics also appeal to Scripture" [See how Prof. Joel Biermann uses the same tactic as the papists.]

90: Papists "do not desire to learn the truth from the divine Word".

95: "it may well happen, and has happened very often, that the visible church…which publicly professes the true Christian faith…is covered with the clouds of affliction, stirred up…by false teachers" [Cp. to this blog post on old Missouri's teaching.] 

103: "But with such “new” [Lutheran] doctrine we already want to go to heaven, which is new in the eyes of the Pope, but old in the eyes of Christ."

105: "we have a legitimate calling.…rather congratulate ourselves that we do not have the papal mark on us."

119: "so they are even greater fools who therefore fall away to the papacy and rely on the fact that in the end they can depart on Christ's merit". [e.g. Father Richard John Neuhaus]

125-6: "the term “Roman Church” has two meanings…Either by the Roman Church is meant the multitude of those who cling to the Roman Pope … or the remnant of the ancient Roman Church, or the pious Christian hearts among the outward group of the Roman Church"

129: "I hope that Fr. Engel's little nut will have been bitten open in this way and, praise God, it has left me without any toothache." [:-) – Pfeiffer's lighthearted joke!]

131: "he knows well that according to the papal doctrine no man can be assured of God's grace"

134: Luther "is as little to be called a weather vane as Augustine".

138: "For their 'unity'…is only enforced and does not consist in the unity of the Spirit".

145: "Not Luther, but the Pope has hatched completely new and unheard-of doctrines"

163: "that I therefore not only maintain the unconquerable and alone saving evangelical doctrine before and after, but also defend it against you and your kind to the death".

There it is again, that phrase "defend to the death", both in the Preface and here in his hot battle against the Jesuit Father Engel. Pfeiffer signals the absolute importance of the "evangelical doctrine", i.e. the Gospel – it is a matter of life and death. — In the concluding Part Pff3, we explain some details pertinent to our translation, and then present our full translation.

Handel died a Christian

      The spiritual condition of George Frideric Handel in his dying days was not recorded in the Westminster Abbey article on him, only that "he hoped he might be buried in the Abbey". The same is true for the Wikipedia article on him. All it could report was that "He died in 1759 at home in Brook Street, at the age of 74." It also reported that he was blind in his last years, which explains the description of events that Prof. Ludwig Fuerbringer described in a short blurb on him in Der Lutheraner. This article fills in the most important detail on the most important aspect of his life, more than his music. In the following translation, some hymn verses unfortunately do not retain the rhyming of the German original, but do retain their meaning.  From Der Lutheraner, vol. 50 (1894), p. 65 [EN]: 

I Know That My Redeemer Liveth.

 

      George Frideric Handel, the composer of the "Messiah", was not only a highly famous composer, but also a devout, believing Christian. In April 1759 he lay on the sickbed that also became his deathbed. When he realized that his end was near, he had his servant read the 91st Psalm to him [Ps. 91]. "That was beautiful," he then said. "O, this is food that satisfies and refreshes. Read me some more, read me the fifteenth chapter of St. Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians [1 Cor. 15]." The servant read again. Several times Handel interrupted him, saying, "Stop, read that again!" After a while he had his favorite hymn read to him from his blessed mother's hymnal:

I am certain in my faith, 

Which incorporates me in Christ. 

Who can rob me of this treasure, 

Which his blood and death pledge to me? 

His precious Word confirms this, 

Therefore my faith says: "I am certain." —

      The sick man's lips whispered softly during the reading, speaking along with the words as much as he knew by heart, then he said: 

"O, it is a beautiful thing when someone can be so sure of his faith! How glorious is the evangelical church with its preaching of the free grace of God in Christ, as the hope of the sinner! If we had to rely on our works, dear God, what should become of us! What good we have in us, is it not all a gift from God? But what we have received as a gift, we cannot claim as if it were a merit. And have we done all that we could and ought to have done? Oh, that God would have mercy on us, how many things complain against us! If the word of grace be nothing, then farewell, hope! When I was young, they tried to make me a Catholic in Italy. O Lord, my God, I thank thee that thou hast stood by me there, that I have not gone into the net; for then I should now lie without consolation. Truly Dr. Martin Luther has found out the right gospel, that to faith in Jesus Christ salvation is given by grace. I cling to this grace with both hands.

      To thee alone, O Lord Jesus Christ, 

      My hope is on earth."

      Handel had often expressed the wish to die on the day of his Savior's death. His wish was granted. On Good Friday he passed away with the softly whispered words, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! Oh, let me die with you and rise again!"

      In the Westminster Abbey in London he lies buried next to the famous men of his adopted fatherland. His grave is marked by a meaningful monument, which is at the same time a testimony to his Christian faith. He stands there life-size in front of an organ, in his hand a sheet of music on which can be clearly read the words which he set to music in his "Messiah" in such an incomparable way, the words: "I know that my Redeemer liveth." [Job 19:25-26] L. F. [Ludwig Fuerbringer]

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

      Wikipedia and Westminster Abbey make no mention of Handel's resistance to becoming Catholic in Italy. But he explicitly called out the soul destroying nature of that church body, naming Martin Luther as God's instrument to defend the Gospel. All those who admire Handel and his musical works know nothing of him if they ignore what he believed, indeed he was "so sure of his faith". The Bible passages Handel selected for consolation prompted me to read the same passages so that I too may be consoled. May I and all readers of this post find comfort in not just Handel's music but, more importantly, his Christian faith.

[Following the break below is the original German text:]

EC15: Certainty of Salvation (Illinois District 1879)

     This concludes from Part EC14 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — What Christian would not want to be certain of their salvation? In the report of the 1879 Illinois District convention, there were nearly 70 pages devoted to this essay of Walther on a most important topic. This essay is Walther at his finest! — The Foreword from the 1992 CPH translation said this:

"…as noted in the opening paragraphs of this essay, it is related to the issue of the election controversy and its implications, even though little reference is made to predestination throughout the essay. … Walther begins by demonstrating the impor­tance of being certain of one’s salvation, proceeds to show how neither personal works nor individual feelings can provide that certainty, and then leads the reader to the true foundation of certainty along with showing how to obtain it.… Walther’s essay provides many examples and suggestions for dealing with a variety of spiritual issues and problems encountered by the pastor as he seeks to lead his people toward a firmer faith".

Notable Quotes:

25: "The certainty of this is of the highest importance and full of the most glorious and sweetest consolation."

25: "the Scriptures …teaches us on almost every page that a man should be certain of God's grace and rejoice in it".

26: "Our dear Lord Christ also confirms His promises on oath. He says in John 5:24: "Verily, verily…"

29: "the most blessed task of the holy ministry of preaching is to bring…firm assurance of their state of grace"

30: "The doctrine of the papists that no man can be completely certain of his state of grace"

31: "the papists have put a stamp on their whole theology… a theology of doubt."

33: "…the whole doctrinal edifice of popery aims at leaving the sinner in doubt…they claim that man is not justified by an external righteousness imputed to him, but by a righteousness that is inherent and innate in him."

36: Augustine: "say to thy God, I am holy, because thou hast sanctified me; because I have received, not because I have had; because thou hast given, not because I have earned."

39: "The real reason why the papists do not believe the doctrine of the certainty of the state of grace is because they are dominated by the spirit of Antichrist".

42: "in general almost all church parties that have arisen from the Reformed Church, teach that the certainty of the state of grace consists only in a sweet feeling… They refer people to their own feelings".

44: "But woe to him who builds on this feeling the certainty of his state of grace!"

48: "this peace [of God] is primarily in God; it consists in the fact that God … is reconciled with you."

51: "these feelings [of enthusiasts] are caused by nervous stimulation or sympathetic influence".

52: "the enthusiasts [Pentecostal, etc.] turn many people into hypocrites with their emotional Christianity."

53: "the fanatical sects do not base their faith on the Word alone…they basically subscribe to the Calvinist doctrine of election."

54: "…the right solid foundation of this certainty. These are the means of grace."

55: "God's mercy…is only preached to us by the Holy Spirit…through the word of the gospel."

59: "…when we base our faith on the sacraments, we also base it on the Word itself."

60: "By this witness of the Holy Spirit, however, nothing else is to be understood than the Word made alive in us by the Holy Spirit".

62: Holy Communion: "that I may be sure …for the forgiveness of my sins".

66: "Just as no one can come to true faith without the Holy Spirit, neither can he come to the certainty of his state of grace".

67: "Those who have…gradually fallen away from Christ inwardly…entertain the false hope that they are in grace with God…they are lost." [This was me in 1973.]

69: "The certainty of the state of grace can therefore be shaken, even destroyed."

70: "since we are talking about the certainty of the state of grace, it can only be shaken by deliberate sins."

73: "The certainty of the state of grace stands and falls with faith."

77: "certainty of the state of grace also exists in the doubts of the repentant, as long as man fights against it"

79: "Romanists teach, as we saw in the first thesis, that one must doubt the certainty of the state of grace".

80: most serious temptation of Satan is…when he tries to fill our hearts with doubts about the grace of God".

82: In sanctification, the Christian "has evidence by his love and good works that he is in favor with God".

86: "Luther shows where it comes from that man becomes willing to practice love, namely because he knows for certain that God is reconciled with him".

In the following, underlining follows Walther's emphasis, which is sometimes missing in the 1992 CPH translation. Paragraph breaks follow the 1992 translation, many hyperlinks added:

The file may be downloaded >> here <<; the German text >> here <<.

May the renewed access to these important essays of Walther aid the reader in their knowledge of true Christian doctrine, and in the certainty of their own salvation as they have it in the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification (EC11). Amen!

EC14: Conversion (Northern District 1873)

     This continues from Part EC13 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — The Foreword to the 1992 CPH translation (by Prof. Arand?) of this 1873 Northern District essay had this first paragraph:

“As Walther rightly points out, the subject of a person’s conversion is one of those touchstone articles of faith which will demonstrate the purity and Scriptur­alness of one’s entire theology, since this locus has points of contact with nearly everything pertaining to a believer’s salvation. Accordingly, Walther treats the subject with the thorough, careful, and reverent study it deserves and which characterizes all his work. The end result is an essay that can serve as a helpful com­panion to Art. II of the Formula of Concord, which treats the very same topic under the heading “Free Will.” Wal­ther organizes his theses around four crucial questions: (1) What is conversion? (2) What are the means of conversion? (3) How much time is necessary for a per­son to be converted? and (4) What part does the Chris­tian play in conversion?”

Notable Quotes:

20: "The means by which a person is converted is the Word of God heard or read."

21: "there is no more mysterious subject than this very doctrine [of Conversion]."

23: " conversion is not a change of works, nor a change of moral principles, but a transfer from the state of sin and wrath to the state of faith and grace."

24: "But the natural man cannot contribute to his salvation, but only to his damnation".

24: "Even Philipp Melanchthon erred in this doctrine by establishing three causes of conversion. But despite all respect for his great merits, our church decisively rejected his error [of synergism]." [See Bente's Introduction]

26: "on God's side the baptismal covenant is eternally firm; but man loses the new life received in holy Baptism through reigning sins… If baptism is not to be a condemnation to us, we must seize daily the gifts of grace given to us in it."

27: "The means by which a person is converted is the Word of God heard or read.… For the intention of the author of the Thesis is to show that adults take no active part in their conversion."

27: "an adult must be born again before Baptism if he is not to receive it for damnation."

28: "No one can pray for conversion who is not already converted, for God does not hear sinners".

32: "The Word of God loses none of its power when it is proclaimed by a layman."

33: "That the mere reading of the Word of God is also a means of conversion, the Formula of Concord testifies…: "…namely, through His holy Word, when men hear it preached or read it…".

34: "Baptism is therefore to be denied to adults who are obviously unbelievers."

35: "God himself has commanded that His Word be read to all the people, including women and children."

36: "The Weimar Bible can therefore be warmly recommended to all Christians".

36: "conversion itself happens at any time in an instant".

38: "For there is no other power of conversion than the Word."

39: "For the Law does not bring about repentance for having offended God, but for having earned hell with one's sins."

40: "God must first bring man to a standstill and to the realization that he must concern himself with the salvation of his soul."

41: "as soon as a significant distinction is made between revival and conversion, synergism is the inevitable result."

43: "…man can certainly hinder it [conversion] in himself, but cannot contribute to it".

44: "our Confession ascribes the conversion of man to the Holy Spirit alone and rejects all human participation."

46: "…we owe it to God's grace alone if we are saved, and that we are lost through our own fault if we are damned."

48: "Righteousness does not precede conversion, but follows it."

50: Young children: "experience teaches us that even small children can resist and thus commit real sin."

52: "He who goes to church to find the way of salvation is already converted".

53: "…there is no middle state between unbelief and faith, death and life."

54: "Almost no one today believes that man cannot contribute to remorse before his conversion."

57: "Synergism is basically nothing other than papist leaven; for the papacy is nothing other than hierarchism on the one hand and Pelagianism on the other."

In the following, underlining follows Walther's emphasis, which is sometimes missing in the 1992 CPH translation. Paragraph breaks follow the 1992 translation, many hyperlinks added:

 

The file may be downloaded >> here <<; the German text >> here <<.

In the next Part EC15…

EC13: Adiaphora, church organization (Central District 1871)

     This continues from Part EC12 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — This is the last of eight essays, Central District 1871, elucidating the Theses in Walther's True Visible Church book, he covers XVIII D relating to "adiaphora". The writers of the Foreword to this series (Arand and Suelflow?) wrote the following words referencing this essay:

"There are altogether 25 theses in Walther’s book, but his discussion of them ends with Thesis XVIII D. Apparently it would have ended with XVIII C at the Eastern District convention in 1868 at Richmond, Va. [EC12]…if the Central District had not requested elucidation on XVIII D, the point dealing with adiaphora (things neither com­manded nor forbidden in Scripture). (It will be noted that this last lecture came much later than the others.) In light of the questions being asked within the church today concerning the wearing of vestments by pastors, the use and value of the historic Lutheran liturgy, the relevance and emotional appeal of Lutheran hymns, and the debate over the role that sociological tools and market research should play in the shaping of Lutheran worship, this lecture on adiaphora is arguably one of the most important in the entire series and deserves extra attention here."

While I will disagree on which essays are the most important, i.e. the ones dealing with Justification (EC4 & EC11), yet I would agree to the very real importance of this essay for today.

Notable Quotes:

10: "The papal Church also says that we must submit to the Word of God, but immediately adds that we must also submit to the traditions and commandments of the church".

10: "there is no such difference among His Christians that some should command and others should obey".

10: "no one should be moved to obedience by pious talk, by long arguments, but by the Word alone".

11: "how much more must we shake off and condemn everything that men want to burden us with contrary to our Christian freedom".

12: "thus Christ also hath redeemed us from the law, spiritually: not breaking and doing away with the law, but thus transforming our heart".

12: "God's people [in Old Testament] were prepared to long for the One who could fulfill the whole Law and redeem them from the Law"

12: "Therefore, although the Lord God has given His precepts in the Old Testament, we [Christians] do not keep them because they do not apply to us".

14: Ceremonies: "Therefore, as desirable as it is that the edifying ceremonies should find acceptance in all Christian congregations, it would nevertheless be folly to strive for their introduction and uniformity in such a way as if the lack of them would abolish the true unity of the church." [see this blog and labels "Liturgical movement", "Liturgical vestments" on the right.]

15: "this passage from the Article XXVIII [Augsburg Confession] proves precisely what the Article VII teaches, namely, that the uniformity of ceremonies does not belong to the unity of the church" [against "Gottesdienst"]

16: "We know and maintain that the character, the soul of Lutheranism lies not in external customs but in pure doctrine. If a congregation had the most beautiful ceremonies in the very best order, but did not have the pure Gospel, it would be anything but Lutheran." [Cp. Bente's statement in his Preface to the Triglotta]

16: "It is also a pity that there are so many different ceremonies in our synod".

17-18: "not a good atmosphere if people do not want to kneel at confession and communion".

18: "…the Lutheran church can endure all constitutions of external church government…episcopal, presbyterial, consistorial and congregational … In the last of these [congregational], which is at the same time the expression of the recognition of Christian freedom, the congregation exercises the highest judgment. This we have also adopted,… because it follows the example of the apostolic church."

20: "this article [XVIII] also gives instruction as to how the power inherent in every congregation is to be handled."

20: "…it may always be asked whether it is right to use one’s right."

21: "It is true that this does not hinder salvation if, for example, men and women sit together in church…". [Missourians viewed separate seating as desirable but not necessary]

24: "If the discipline of the church is in disrepair, if false doctrine penetrates, if injustice goes unpunished, then the responsibility lies with every member who does not bear witness against it."

25: "…every congregation to be careful that its preachers do not go too far in matters of Christian freedom."

27: Luther: "Love is empress over ceremonies, and ceremonies should give way to love, but not love to ceremonies."

28: "…the character of our time. Love is demanded when it is a matter of doctrine, when God's Word alone should be master". [cp. with Dr. Carl S. Meyer's essay in 1956]

In the following, underlining follows Walther's emphasis, which is sometimes missing in the 1992 CPH translation. Paragraph breaks follow the 1992 translation, many hyperlinks added:

Web version here; download file >> here <<; the German text >> here <<.

In the next Part EC14…