No. 43 I am following your argument. Thank you for delving into this topic. The concept of the Spirit working apart from the Word is something I encounter regularly here in Los Angeles. You just referred to those who say that the Spirit works apart from the spoken and written Word as �enthusiasts�? Who exactly are the �enthusiasts�? >>DR. LEOPALDO SANCHEZ M.: That's a great question, Nick. And because I don't want to get anyone off the hook, I'm going to say that at one time or another in our lives, we are all enthusiasts. Now, what is enthusiasm? Simply stated, enthusiasm is the move from hearing God's Word spoken to me in absolution or baptism or the supper to the move -- the move from that, from that certainty of what God is saying, to what I sense in my heart God might or might not be doing for me. So in other words, enthusiasm is the move from the certainty of God's promises to the shaky sands of one's own uncertain thoughts or feelings as to whether God is actually doing or not doing what he promises. Enthusiasm is also known as the ***garilisae syndrome. In other words, when we begin to wonder if God's Word of forgiveness is true for me, then I have fallen into the garilisae syndrome. And that's enthusiasm. Luther put it this way: In these matters which concern the spoken external Word, it must be firmly maintained that God gives no one his Spirit or grace apart from the external Word which goes before it. And then listen to this. He says: This is all the old devil and old snake who also turned Adam and Eve into enthusiasts and led them from the external Word of God to spirituality and their own presumption. So when we begin to lose the focus on God's sure promise given to us in the Gospel, whether that comes in the form of absolution baptism or the supper and move from that to the uncertainty of their own thoughts and doubts and feelings as to whether God is actually doing what he promises in their lives, we have become enthusiasts. We have asked the question: Did God really say? So we wonder. And we lose our ground of certainty in the Gospel. Now, the sacraments are perhaps the best antidote against enthusiasm. A theologian by the name of Gerhard ***Ferdy in his book "Theologies For Proclamation" puts it this way: In administering the sacraments, we do not merely say something. We do not merely impart information. We do something. We wash in water. We give bread and wine to those who come. We do not that is explain Christ or the Gospel or describe faith or give instructions on how to get salvation. We give salvation flat out. There it is. In the mouth. There it is, on the head. Ferdy would also say: Without the sacraments, the words go inside us. We begin to wonder whether we really have taken the Word seriously. I might hear the words "Your sins or forgiven" but then wonder whether it could be really me that is meant. Or whether that it is even relevant to my needs. You see, since the sacraments don't give us a chance to internalize the spoken Word too much, they flat out convey how objective, external and certain is God's salvation for us through his external Gospel.