EC11: Justification, Law & Gospel, Hermeneutics (Central District 1868)

     This continues from Part EC10 (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. — In this sixth of eight essays, Central District 1868, elucidating the Theses in Walther's True Visible Church book, he covers XVIII A–C. This essay is one that grounded me in my new found Christian faith when I first read it in the mid-1990s. I have quoted the phrase found on page 14 several times on my blog, and even reproduced the exact 1992 printed page (p. 172). I am pleased to be the one to honor Director August Suelflow's efforts to bring Walther to today's church by once again bringing this special essay to public view in English. What was it that Walther said? This:

“…you often hear them preach: You are saved if you believe, instead of saying: You are saved so that you might believe.”

That is the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification. I am a Lutheran because of this.

Notable Quotes:

12: "The doctrine of Christ is no other than the doctrine of justification and vice versa."

12: "The Reformed false doctrine of the sacraments comes precisely from the fact that they do not rightly believe "that man is justified and saved for Christ's sake alone".

13: The Lutheran Church "actually makes this distinction [of Law and Gospel] and thus proves itself to be the true church."

13: The OT Jewish "faith was more hopeful, looked more to the future — ours looks more to the past."

14: "Because they do not recognize "the difference between the Law and the Gospel" "as a special glorious light", many pastors in Germany and here do not make a proper distinction between the acquisition of salvation and the appropriation of the same. That is why you often hear them preach: You are saved if you believe, instead of saying: You are saved so that you might believe. Nor does one of the sects teach that Christ has already acquired everything and that man only has to accept by faith what God offers him." [Universal, Objective Justification!]

16: "the Methodists…always indicate the actual character of Christians with the words: "They are serious about sanctification"…we answer: We want to be saved by grace alone for Christ's sake. That is the main thing for us."

18: "The Missouri Synod is thought to be orthodox, and it is thought that it only comes from the letter. But the faith of the heart has brought us together."

21: "If, however, the foundation is left standing, but only human thoughts are built on it, … then wood, hay and stubble have been built on the foundation."

21: "stubble Christian": "But the stubble, such as [St.] Bernard's monasticism and the like, fall away, are consumed by the fire of temptation."

22: "The essential foundation is Christ, grasped through faith; the instrumental foundation, by which that foundation is laid, is the Word of God."

23: "There is still enough in the Roman Church that people can be saved.…When he [the priest] baptizes children, he is Christ's servant, but when he reads mass, he is the devil's servant. The doctrine of the papacy, however, is not Christian, but overturns the whole of Christianity."

24: "A resolute Calvinist overturns the foundation of faith.…does not know from God's Word that God wants to save all and that Christ has redeemed all men". [Universal Justification]

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

In the next Part EC12…