AG4a: 1876: Means of Grace, their Foundation, Validity

      This continues from Part AG3c (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — The bulk of this essay deals with the Doctrine of the Means of Grace, then follows that with the Doctrine of Conversion. On the Means of Grace, Walther covers four points:

1. Foundation (pp. 25-29)
2. Validity (pp. 29-42)
3. Power (pp. 42-56)
4. Immutability (pp. 56-63)

Conversion is covered on pp. 63-71. — Teaching on the Means of Grace is especially needed today with so many of the so-called "Evangelicals" in America who essentially teach Reformed doctrine. And Walther provides the perfect defense for Lutheran teaching. Who does not need a refresher on this doctrine? — This segment will focus on pp. 18-29: 

Notable Quotes: (on Means of Grace)

Introduction: [pp. 18-25]

20: "as long as a man still seeks his own honor, he does not yet have true religion" [Worldly psychotherapy counsels "self-love", as it did for me in my past. Therapist hated Christian counsel.]

20: "If I now know that the interpretation [of Scripture] honors God alone, then I have a summary proof that it is right"

21: "Methodists…place the glory and excellence of their religion above all in the fact that they are the holiest and most pious people there are in the world"

21-22: "Even if it [Reformed Church] uses the words "means of grace" [See this blog post on Dr. Albert Mohler, a Southern Baptist.], it understands something quite different from what God's Word and our church understand by it"

22: Reformed teach "a means to initiate the effects of the Holy Spirit in a person, whereas a means of grace is that which brings me the grace of God."

22: "If…we look for it [grace] somewhere else…by kneeling down in a corner and sighing… then we are going the way of enthusiasts …it is the voice of the devil or of his own flesh."

22: The Word as Means: "'You are now clean because of the Word that I have spoken to you.' John 15:3"

23: "there are also three witnesses of grace on earth, namely the Spirit (the Word of God), the water (Baptism) and the blood (Holy Communion)" [Cp. to 1 John 5:7]

23: "God gives no one his Spirit or grace without, through, and with the preceding outward Word"

23: Enthusiasts: "always teach: if you want grace, you must pray until you feel that it is within you"

24: Enthusiasts "makes for himself a means of grace that God has not made

25: "If the good God spoke to us from heaven, we would believe it; but if he speaks to us through the Bible, we do not believe it, because we do not seriously and truly regard it as the Word of God."

25: "our church does not speak merely of signs of grace, but of means of grace."

Foundation: [pp. 25-29]

25: Smalcald Art.: "The Word of God shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel" [Against Prof. Joel Biermann. and his "Scripture and Tradition".]

25-26: "the Papists introduce five other sacraments…: Confirmation, Penance, Matrimony, Ordination of Priests, and Extreme Unction"

26: "Methodists declare prayer to be such a means. But how can there be grace in something we do? Prayer is rather an effect, a fruit of the means of grace"

26: Methodists: "…also make their penitential bench, even their prayer meetings and camp meetings, into means of grace."

28: "Many false Lutherans also teach today that ordination is a sacramental act, especially the orthodox Romanist enthusiast [A. F. C.] Vilmar" [See here for more.]

28: "Among all the Reformed with their sects, the Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, the spirit of Zwingli still prevails today"

29: Zwingli: "But the Spirit needs no vehicle". [I.e. no "means of grace".]

28: Zwingli: "The sacraments are given as a public testimony of the grace that each one has beforehand"

      Along with Walther's thorough treatment of the Means of Grace, one can also read Franz Pieper's treatment of the same doctrine in his book The Foundation of the Christian Faith here. — In the next Part AG4b, the Validity and Power of the Means of Grace.

AG3c: 1875: Good Works; full download

      This continues from Part AG3b (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — This section finishes the 1875 essay and follows the doctrine of Sanctification. And Walther offers perfect Christian teaching on a subject that some (maybe me) dread. — From pp. 53-59:

Notable Quotes:

53: "The Lutheran Church is accused of being very zealous in teaching justification, but little about sanctification and especially too little about good works" [Cp. to Dr. Scott Keith's statement here.]

54: "We only call that a good work when we either [1.] do something that God has commanded us to do or [2.] leave something that he has forbidden."

54: "Everything that the papists devise for themselves, fasting, monasticism, pilgrimages, etc., are shameful works; … Such works are nothing but pure sin, since they arise from lust for reward"

55: Luther: "Therefore He joins faith and good works together, so that in the two there is the sum of the whole Christian life."

55: Luther: "Therefore understand this saying most simply, that works are fruits and signs of faith, and that God judges people according to such fruits, which must surely follow,"

55: "If one always hears the message of grace, one can easily fall into the trap of disregarding good works. A true Christian rejoices when he is warned of this danger."

56: "In justification we should trample all works underfoot, but outside of justification we should emphasize works."

56: "So God has, as it were, a book in His hands, in which every good work, every prayer, every Lord's Prayer, every sigh, every tear…"

57: "it is not a question of what we regard as good works, but what God regards as good works. He demands works from us that come from love for Him and gratitude."

57: "Let him who is slow to do good know that he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly."

57: "We should not wrongly rely on God's mercy and neglect works, because 

1. we will easily lose grace; 

2. we will show our ingratitude to God, who requires us to do them; 

3. we will be surprised at what we have in eternal life that others do not have."

58: "The best way to test a good work is to ask oneself whether it benefits one's neighbor or whether one does it only because it benefits himself."

58: "First preach diligently about grace, then you can also preach confidently about the great reward of good works. But if the doctrine of justification is not preached with emphasis, then you can certainly do harm by preaching about works."

58-59: "One such request that we could make to our congregations at the present time [1875] would be for contributions to the new building of our college.…that it [their contribution] would one day be in their account." [Eight years later, in 1883, the new seminary building was dedicated:]

New St. Louis seminary building, 1883 (Denkstein p 206 )

59: "Do not threaten, but ask the people for the sake of God's mercy, and tell them that it is a grace to give something for God's kingdom, and that you want to give them the opportunity to reap a harvest."

      Now I present my English translation of the full complete essay, with missing portions restored and with hyperlinks for reference and navigation:

Download the text file here (8-1/2 x 11, no highlighting); German text here.

      In the next Part AG4a, Walther's essay to the 1876 Western District convention: Means of Grace and Conversion.

AG3b: 1875: The Necessity of Regeneration and Sanctification

      This continues from Part AG3a (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — Walther now moves on to a topic that typically follows the Doctrine of Justification: Regeneration and Sanctification. How are these subjects to also "Give All Glory to God"? — From pp. 40-53:

Notable Quotes:

40: "we also teach that where this faith is, man also becomes a new creature, which is produced by regeneration"

40-41: "Jesuits maintain that we teach: 'Live as you will, only believe; works are not necessary, neither are rebirth and regeneration'…these rascals know well that they are lying"

41: "it is impossible that, when one has come to living faith, his heart should not become joyful and merry in God"

41: "One can speak with the mouth: I believe, but such mouth-faith brings no one to heaven, but certainly to hell. No, he who believes in this love with all his heart…receives divine powers for a new life."

42: Luther's grand "Faith is not…faith is" passage: "Faith is not the human delusion and dream that some take for faith.…Oh, faith is a living, active, powerful thing, so that it is impossible that it should not work good without ceasing."

43: Luther: "Therefore, without compulsion, man becomes willing and eager to do good to everyone…Ask God to work faith in you, otherwise you will probably remain without faith forever"

43: "With the enthusiasts [Methodists, etc.]…[Christians] find not only good [teaching on regeneration], but also poison, from which they can die eternal death."

43: Roman Church teaches "that only the nature of sin is taken away from original sin, according to them no new creation takes place in Baptism."

43: For enthusiasts, "regeneration is not the production of faith, but they feel something"

44: "Methodists very often accuse us of the error of saying that Baptism is regeneration.…Rather, we teach that it works regeneration"

44: "Baptism should therefore not be made into a new work. What saves us is Christ alone."

45: "the terrible thing about the Methodists, that they accuse us of teaching nothing about the new birth"

45: Methodists: "the Lutherans want to enter the kingdom of heaven without regeneration, without repentance and without conversion; …poor Christians must get the idea: Oh, I will beware of the Lutherans!"

46: "It is also necessary that man should be shown how he is made holy and renewed in the image of God.…God forgives us sin so that we can come out of sin."

47: " The Lutheran Church…also demands sanctification from every Christian."

47: "if the Antinomians had not stood up, Luther would probably never have given such powerful testimony to the necessity of sanctification."

49: "The Antinomians admitted that Christ was the Savior from sin, but that they had to be converted from sin, they wanted to know nothing about"

50: "Insofar as a person recognizes God, he is holy. Here we recognize him only in part"

50: "How terrible it is that the Roman Church has a doctrine of justification which is nothing other than a doctrine of sanctification."

51: "our [Lutheran] doctrine of justification is a mystery to them [Romanists], which they cannot comprehend. That is why they are frightened when we say that we are justified by faith alone."

51: "The thief on the cross is a good example of this. For as soon as he believed, he also began to punish the other evildoer."

Walther's hard sayings, preaching of the Law: (Cp. to Prof. Henry Eggold here)

51: "I must not abandon the doctrine just because someone is offended by it.

51: "I am not at the will of the robber, but try to slip away from him, draw my pistol and say to him: "Come now! I do not value my life so highly, but I am in a state of self-defense, and must not do every street thief's bidding."

51: "Anyone who does not stand against sin as against a robber…is not a Christian."

52: "There is thunder and lightning in the pulpit, that has to happen, otherwise you are not a faithful preacher."

52: "Nor should we refrain from preaching the law in old congregations…" [Cp. to Prof. Henry Eggold here]

52: "We preachers must certainly remember that we Christians are made up of two people, the old and the new" [The basics of distinguishing Law and Gospel in preaching.]

In the next Part AG3c, we conclude the 1875 essay and provide a download link to the full essay.

AG3a: 1875: The Justification of the Sinner

      This continues from Part AG2b (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — We move on to the following year's 1875 Western District essay where Walther addresses his Thesis III, part 5, a continuation of his teaching on Justification. This is powerful teaching on what the Gospel actually is, and so is worthy of careful study by all who covet their souls salvation. If there is a writing that gives All Glory (AG) to God, this is it. — From pp. 19-40:

Notable Quotes:

20-21: "the doctrine of justification does not say that man is just, but that he is to become just."

21: "there is no sin that has not been atoned for, no matter how great it may be"

21: "but for us he [Christ] fulfilled the law perfectly"

21: "nor did he say: pray, struggle, wrestle until you realize that you have [Christ's righteousness].… if you think you have obtained it in this way, it is only a dream from which you will wake up in horror."

21: "So where do we find God's grace? Answer: In the Word of God and in the Holy Sacraments, nowhere else."

22: "This is what the sects [Reformed, enthusiasts] think. They say that man must do the main thing if he wants to be saved; if he struggles, strives, fights and prays enough…"

23: "if God accepts something from us in grace, which we give him out of gratitude for the grace we have received, God must first give it to us"

23: "But if you say: yes, I don't want to be Lutheran at all, then know that you are not Christian either, for Lutheranism is nothing other than Christianity."

23: "This: “Therefore we hold that a man is justified without the works of the law, through faith alone” [Rom. 3:28, Luther's Bible] is true Christianity, but it is also true Lutheranism."

23: "man was not to become righteous first, but God had already made him righteous when he created him."

24: God "also restores to man the righteousness which He had created for him in Adam, but which he lost in Adam"

24: "when the life-giving Word of God comes to us, we wake up, but most do not want to get up and therefore die again until they go to eternal death"

24: " It is true that Christians must also struggle, pray and fight, but not in order to obtain grace, but in order not to lose it again."

25: "Our Church, however, in the Augsburg Confession, in the Small Catechism, etc., takes this doctrine very seriously."

26: "For what good would it do us if we knew 

• that God is triune, 
• that Christ is God and man in one person, 
• that our flesh will one day be resurrected, 
• and had all the other glorious doctrines of faith, 

but did not have the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone, without merit of works?"

26: "Just read the songs of the blessed in heaven, as described in the Revelation of John. Do they perhaps praise something in themselves? No,…"

27: "The devil, reason, or other such friends say: 'Do this, do that, if you want to be saved'. But do not listen to those voices!"

28: "The Augsburg Confession excludes all personal merit. What, on the other hand, does the pope do? He curses those who hold to Christ's merit alone".

28: "It is also extremely important to keep this doctrine pure and clear…for the person under attack doubts whether he has grace with God and considers himself unworthy of it because of his sins"

29: "We are also blasphemed…we are called…people who only wage wars over words"

29: The tempted "find strong consolation precisely in the fact that “by grace alone” serves the glory of God"

29: Luther "shows how all false doctrine of justification is contrary to the first commandment"

29: "the Father's declaration before the whole world…that it is now righteous before Him, so that it may believe that it is redeemed and reconciled"

30: The believer "now also calls upon God in all earnestness for strength for sanctification"

30: "Those are greatly mistaken who think that we are opposed to earnest godliness"

30: "where the first commandment is established, the grace of God is established"

31: "Modern theology, too, teaches again the doctrine of works, and indeed the most refined, in that it presents faith as a work by which we acquire grace."

31: "According to them [Jesuits], therefore, faith and love justify." [The damnable word "and".]

32: "It is common to say that God justifies man, but on the condition of faith.…Only those who do not know how to distinguish clearly between condition and means can come up with such ideas."

32: "We are not reconciled with God when we believe, but we are already redeemed, already reconciled with God, so that we believe."

33: "The doctrine of justification can only be correctly understood if faith is presented merely as the hand, as the instrument, by which we appropriate the offered righteousness."

33: Easter: "when God raised his Son from the dead, he did not forgive his own sin, but that of all mankind"

Walther's great preaching of the Gospel:

33: "Thus the whole world has already been justified by the resurrection of Christ, which man must now appropriate for himself through faith." [Objective & Subjective Justification]

33: "Just as the Universalists teach that no man is lost, but that all are saved…The enthusiasts know very well that we do not teach this.…man must now accept what Christ has acquired, otherwise he does not have it, and otherwise God cannot save him either." [Lutherans are not Universalists.]

34: "the Bible the expression “if we believe, we will be saved” is never used in the sense that it indicates a condition."

35: Heerbrand (pic) on the "hand" of faith: "It is only the way of accepting the benefits offered and given through and for the sake of Christ…the hand is not called the condition, but the means and instrument"

35: "Forgiveness of sins is also acquired for the impenitent. It is only their unbelief that prevents justification from being put into effect for them."

36: "Justification is not something that happens in our hearts, but in God"

36: "When the little word “if” is used in Scripture, it is not always necessarily a conditional “if”, but often a syllogistic “if”, which serves to indicate the consequence." [We are saved "if" we believe.]

36: "God asks nothing of us, we are only supposed to take. And since God Himself works faith, it cannot be a cause or condition, but only a means of justification."

37: Carpzov: "It is inaccurate to call faith the instrumental cause of justification.…it is the instrument"

37: "we cannot accomplish anything, not even faith."

37: "Unbelief is the cause of damnation, but faith is not the cause of salvation."

39: "We therefore stand by what the Scripture says: 'This is the work of God, that you believe'. John 6:29"

39: "We will have nothing else to do for all eternity but to offer Him our thanksgiving that He has justified and saved us sinners by grace"

I loved reviewing this powerful essay again as Walther gives the poor sinner, like me, complete assurance in Christ. — In the next Part AG3b…

AG2b: 1874, Reconciliation, Redemption of Human Race, "Crown of all Christian Doctrine"

      This continues from Part AG2a (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — This second part of Walther's 1874 essay is one of his most powerful essays, full of comfort, full of defense for the truth, especially against the "enthusiasts". I have quoted from it previously without providing a completely new translation. — From pp. 43-61:

Notable Quotes:

43: "This doctrine is…the crown of all Christian doctrine and the real triumph of the Christian religion."

43: "the Christian religion, on the other hand, teaches not only how people are to be eternally saved one day, but how they are already saved"

43: "Everything has already been done; you are already redeemed, you are already justified before God, you are already saved; therefore you have nothing to do to redeem yourself first"

44: The papists teach "if one sins after baptism, one must then do enough before God"

44: Formula of Concord: "God has decreed in his purpose and counsel, 1. that the human race is truly redeemed and reconciled to God through Christ"

44: "In Christ my sins have already been atoned for; he has done enough for them as my substitute."

45: "Good works should be done, but not to propitiate God…but out of gratitude to Christ"

45: "the damned in hell will one day have to say: I did not go to hell because I was not saved,…but I was cast out because I did not want to accept the salvation I had received from God's hand"

Walther's great Gospel teaching:

45: "We should not say to people: You are saved on the condition that you believe; but the other way around: Because Christ has redeemed you, you can now believe that you have been saved."

46: "It is therefore terrible when the sects say: I have all this on condition that I do something to bring it about."

46: "God is no longer angry with mankind.…For as I believe God, so He is."

47: "…as Luther also says in the 95 Theses. 'The true treasure of the churches,' it says in the 62nd thesis, 'is the holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.'" [Prof. Cameron MacKenzie argues against Luther's 95 Theses as truly Lutheran yet. He also argues against Walther.]

47: "…they are always there for us, even if we do not believe."

48: The enthusiast "is against the means of grace because he does not believe in grace itself. Yes, says the enthusiast, I cannot believe that God gives such great goods through such small, insignificant means."

49: Enthusiasts (i.e. Methodists, Pentecostals etc.) "confess, for example, that they believe in the triune God; but this article is the greatest mystery to human reason."

49: Enthusiasts "do not ask [one]: What do you believe? — but rather: How do you feel?…they go on with the work until he has a feeling as if Jesus is there."

50: "But this is precisely what they lack, and make repentance the means of reconciliation with God" [As the papists do.]

50: "Whoever, at the hour of death, does not keep to the Word but to the "spirit", has only a phantom, a figment of the imagination, and must go to hell."

51: "according to Scripture, the whole Christ, the God-man, died…If only that which was human in Christ had died, then redemption would not be valid"

52: Calvin "…attributes it only to the unconditional eternal counsel of God that God brings a man to heaven, not to Christ's truly perfect satisfaction."

52: "true Reformed do not believe that Christ is true God and man in one person"

53: "if we could not rely on the word of Christ, 'It is finished,' no Christian could say, 'Christ has done enough for every one of my sins.'…Only in the Lutheran Church is this truth taught."

54: "Christ bore all sins, both original sin and all other sins.…the enthusiasts say, [God has] only done something for the redemption of all people…we still have to do something in addition."

54: "the angels at the birth of the world's Redeemer and Reconciler…: "Glory to God in the highest"!"

55: "the Presbyterians confess: 'No other is redeemed by Christ…except the elect alone.'"

56: "the ungodly doctrine of the Romans concerning the sacrifice of the Mass.…the greatest abomination of papism."

56: The devil "preserves and elevates the Mass so powerfully, namely to remove Christ's sacrifice from the church"

56: The Apology: "We teach that the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross was sufficient for the sin of the whole world"

57: "The Mass is therefore the real hellish core of the antichristian papacy."

58: "How are people converted? By giving God the glory he has given himself in the work of redemption"

58: "No doctrine is therefore so…worthy that the preacher should present it in a more attractive and lovely way, than the doctrine of the redemption of the world through Christ"

59: Listeners of modern preachers are "only beaten up, given rules, punished harshly and given a great goal. So it is no wonder that people are reluctant to go to church."

59: "If…a preacher proclaims Christ Jesus, exalts this man, and makes people rejoice from the heart that they have such a glorious Savior, that is the right man, he is an ambassador in God's stead"

60: "as Luther rightly says: Even when the Lord Jesus proclaims woe, he does so in order to be able to save."

60: "It is also a wonderful, fruitful means of preparation for this if the preacher diligently studies Luther." [Compare to Prof. Cameron MacKenzie's unhelpful comment on Walther and Luther:

"Walther overlooks or explains away what others might see as sinful [in Luther]. We do not do either of these things today. We expect our heroes both to have weaknesses and to make mistakes—and they do. Martin Luther and oh, yes, C.F.W. Walther. But Walther is long gone and so is his whole approach to Martin Luther as hero and infallible teacher."]

Reading MacKenzie's statement is like saying "Read Luther to see if you can find his sinfulness, his weaknesses, his fallibility". Of course MacKenzie's charge that Walther ascribed "infallibility" to Luther's person is false. But Luther's doctrine was Scriptural and therefore infallible.

      Now I present my new English translation with all missing portions, and Walther's emphasis of wording, fully restored, and hyperlinks added for navigation and reference:

Download the text file here (8-1/2 x 11, no highlighting); German text here.

— In the next Part AG3a we begin Walther's next essay from 1875 on "The justification of the Sinner".

AG2a: 1874 Western: The General Will of God's Grace (Christianity not like Philosophy)

      This continues from Part AG1d (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — We move on to the following year's 1874 Western District essay where Walther addresses his Thesis III, part 4, the General Will of God's Grace., and part 5, the Reconciliation and Redemption of the Human Race. — This segment contains Walther's masterful defense of Luther's writing  The Bondage of the Will that is so troublesome for several prominent LC-MS theologians. See also Part AG1d, p. 79. — From pp. 30-43 in the original:

Notable Quotes:

31: "a great mistake of modern theology, that one thinks of God without God's Word and then says: This is how he is."

31: "we know that he really wants to save all men; he has revealed this to us in his Word"

31: "God is not like a person who is sometimes friendly, sometimes grumpy, but a being constantly glowing with love."

32: "If a man will not hear God's Word…the will of God to save him is nevertheless a serious one"

32: "such a person…likes it where the devil is served"

33-35: Walther's great defense of Luther's The Bondage of the Will.

33: "some false Lutherans consider our Luther to be a particularist, i.e. someone who believes that God basically only wants to be merciful to some people…" [E.g. Robert Kolb, Cameron Mackenzie, Roy Suelflow.]

35: "In the image of God there is no wrath in his nature and being, and certainly nothing but pure love and goodness."

36: "So when Christ cries out woe over the ungodly, this too…is a voice of his saving love."

36: "these kinds of judgments of wrath only belong to the time of grace; when this is over, the time of wrath begins."

37: "If we do not know that God wants to save everyone, we must forever doubt whether we are in a state of grace, whether our faith is right"

38: On supralapsarians and infralapsarians: "…God is turned into a hypocritical God and the tears of Christ over Jerusalem into hypocritical tears. What an abominable dishonoring of God!"

38: "where has God revealed that he wants to act according to this [His] power? Nowhere. Rather, God has revealed that he wants to have mercy on all men"

39: "God did not actually build hell for people, but for the devils. That is why he once said to the damned: 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.' [Matt. 25:41]"

39: "Universalists deny the redemption of Jesus Christ. They only speak of a love of God apart from Christ."

40: On the 1) general will of grace and of the 2) election of grace: "…we too are certainly in great danger of violating one of these two doctrines in one way or another through the devil's cunning."

40: "Zwingli and Calvin were philosophers…Calvinism flooded Switzerland, France, England and Holland in particular."

41: For Calvinists, "when the Bible uses the word 'all' or the expression 'without distinction' or when it says: 'God wants to save sinners', it always refers only to the elect."

41: "For it is inexplicable to our reason that the Chinese…have been without the preaching of the Gospel for so long.…this is the abyss the Calvinists could not get over"

41-42: Walther on Philosophy:

41: "Calvin's doctrine looks like a harmonious whole that solves all the riddles of reason."

41: "Luther's doctrine, on the other hand, fits reason neither back nor front. Of course, the apostles and prophets are to blame for this…"

42: "For Calvin is quite the same as our modern philosophers, except that he still cites Bible verses for his cause. These philosophers, such as [Immanuel] Kant, [Friedrich] Schelling, [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich] Hegel, are therefore actually better, for they do not attach Bible verses to their philosophy."

42: "we do not seek a doctrine that forms a system, like philosophy.…Christianity, however, is not such a science."

42: "We see that many children are deceived and lost…But it is important to note that there is a mystery here"

      It should be noted that in the year of this essay, 1874, there was already a discussion on whether the 12th point, Election of Grace, should be pulled forward because of the attacks on this doctrine by the Iowa Synod. It was surely Walther who made the point that this doctrine should only be dealt with after "we have gone through the other doctrines that precede it in the third thesis". See Part AG1. — In the next Part AG2b, Walther addresses the fifth point of his Thesis 3, the Reconciliation and Redemption of the Human Race.

AG1d: 1873: Divine Providence (Thesis III, 3); full download

      This continues from Part AG1c (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — Concluding the 1873 Western District essay is Walther's Thesis III, part 3, on Divine Providence. — In Walther's forceful teaching, he exposes all hidden unbelief, even in matters relating to this subject. — From pp. 63-80 in the original:

Notable Quotes:

63: "The dear Christians…think that these [laws of nature] are actually the driving force … [they] should rather see God at work everywhere."

64: "…God's greatest honor, that no mosquito can move in the universe without Him…Oh, it is a very blessed teaching!"

64: "Anyone who does not believe [providence of God] this is not a Christian."

65: There have been people who have thought that God takes care of the whole, but does not take care of the smallest things; but this is a boundless stupidity.

66: "God considers everything he has created important,…and cares about everything without exception"

66: "The pagan Pliny thinks that the divine majesty is defiled when it cares for despised things. But these are foolish thoughts…"

67: God's "eye surveys everything, from beginning to end, without first having to consider anything"

67: "The power of God is no less visible in the creation of a mosquito than of an elephant; hence also in its preservation."

67-68: God's handiwork: The mosquito, elephants, bees, beavers

68: "…everywhere they [atheists] look they see themselves surrounded by immeasurable power and wisdom, and they are nothing but impotent dust." [Notwithstanding Artificial Intelligence.]

69: Luther: "that God is with his own in death, in hell, in waters, in mud, which are as unclean and impure as other filth"

70: "If the good Lord were not everywhere, no seed could germinate, no sprout could become a stalk…"

71: "In this disgraceful, God-denying time, we must push this article hard.…Many people don't really believe the first article"

71: "For it is not true faith, if someone thinks that there is a bit of God everywhere…[God] is not only everywhere, but everywhere he is always whole."

72: Luther: God "is at the same time in every little grain completely and utterly, and yet in all and above all and beyond all creatures"

72: "…the Reformed say: 'How can the body of Christ be in the host? He would then have to crawl into it completely.' But these are stupid rational thoughts." [Walther catches the Reformed in their error: they not only deny the True Prescence, in the process they deny God's Providence.]

73: "all things…are only there because there is divine preservation.…perpetually dependent on Him for all eternity."

73: "we have a way of saying: "The sun rises, it rains, it hails." — But this is an improper way of speaking…" [Scripture] "usually says: God makes the sun rise, God rains, God hails." 

74: "the blessing that is in the grain nourishes us. Only the blind heathen thinks that the nourishing power is in the grain itself."

75: "If God is not willing, no war can break out; if God is not willing, no peace can be made.…Anyone who attributes victory to cannons or well-trained soldiers is basically an atheist." [Or drones, or Artificial Intelligence.]

75: "we Christians, when we read in the newspapers [or Internet], must always look not at men, who are only the instruments, but at God, who rules the world."

75: "Therefore no revolutions, but repentance!"

75-76: "therefore the most simple-minded Christian horseman can make a better judgment about it than the greatest historian, if he is not a Christian."

76: Unbeliever: "everything he does is pure sin before God, even if it may be civically good."

76: "a most important subject, namely the extent to which God cooperates in evil deeds"

77: "strictly speaking, God has no foreknowledge, he has no present, no past, no future. What he knows, he knows; only for us is it foreknowledge" [Who teaches like Walther?]

77: "But men were preserved because the Son of God prayed for them."

78: "God is not bound by the so-called laws of nature. The three men in the fiery furnace are an example"

79: "even if God is the driving force in all people, he works good; but he does not work evil, …This is …a justification of Luther's entire book…The Bondage of the Will. So if there are other passages in which Luther speaks as if he believed that God also does evil, this is mere appearance." [See Part AG1c: Against Robert Kolb, Cameron MacKenzie, Roy Suelflow.]

80: "God shows us…that he is the great artist who can make something good out of evil"

How comforting to hear Walther's powerful teaching of God's Providence!… that He is with us always!

      Now I present my new English translation with all missing portions, and Walther's emphasis of wording, fully restored, and hyperlinks added for navigation and reference:

Download DOCX file here; German text here.

Walther's teaching against the Reformed above is counteracted by several prominent LC–MS theologians and pastors. These tend to equate the term "Evangelicals" with today's Reformed, but it was the Lutherans who were the real "Evangelicals". These LC–MS teachers typically teach against a so-called "biblicism" that they perceive as Reformed, or "Evangelical", doctrine. But these essentially ignore the strongest defense against the Reformed that Walther uses, that the bare words "This is my body, this is my blood" are not understood as they read. The Lutherans accept these simple words as they read — does that make true Lutherans "biblicists"? It would seem so.  — In the next Part AG2a…