(!tnnrnrbiu m4tnlngital :!In11tlJly Continuing LEHRE UND WEHRE MA~ZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. X February, 1939 No.2 CONTENTS Page The Means of Grace. F. E. Mayer __________________________________ 81 Wie die rechte Stellung zur Heiligen Schrift die Amtstaetigkeit des Pastors bestimmt. F. Plotenhauer 90 Sermon Study on 2 Tim. 4:5-8. Th. Laetsch _ 96 The Institutional Missionary and the Divine Service E. A. DuemHng ___________ 111 Predigtentwuerfe fuer die Evangelien der Thomasius- Perikopenreihe _____________ _ _ ____________ HO Miscellanea __ . ______________ _ ---------------~ Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches ______ 142 Book Review. - Literatur _________ 153 JIlIn Predller muss n1cht allein toei- den. also dass er die Schafe unter- weise. wte ale rechte Chrtsten Bollen rein. sondern 8Uch daneben den Woel- fen toeht'm. dass ale die Schafe n1cht angreifen und mit falscher Lehre ver- fuehren und Irrtum einfuehren. Luthet'. Es 1st kein Ding. lias die Leute mehr bel der Klrche behaelt denn die gute Predigt. - Apologte. An.. 24. If the trumpet give an uncertain sound who shall prepare hlm.self to the battle? -1 COf'. 14. I. Published for the BY. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING BOUSE, St. Louis, Mo. ABcmv Concordia Theological Monthly VoL X FEBRUARY, 1939 No.2 The Means of Grace l ) How does the infinite God reveal Himself to finite man? How can union and communion between God and man be established? There is an inherent longing in man to bridge the chasm which separ ates the unknown, absolute God from sinful, mortal man, and since Adam's fall natural man has attempted to penetrate into the being, counsels, attitude, and mysteries of God. The various at- tempts of man to know God, to investigate the plan of action which would please Him, to establish union with God, may conveniently be classified as they are motivated primarily either by the will or by emotion or by the intellect.2) Man's attempt to know and to approach God through the efforts of the will is best exemplified in the moral discipline of the Stoics,3) the Buddhists,4) the ethical Humanists,5) the ascetics, both the "holy man of India" and the "saint" in the Roman Catholic Church. 1) This is the first article in a series which is intended to discuss the means of grace with special reference to present theological tendencies and debates and to the problems confronting the pastor today. -Ed. Note. 2) Since there is constant interaction between will, emotion, and intellect, an absolute division along the lines indicated is impossible. A. Koeberle very successfully follows this threefold division in tracing man's efforts at self-salvation. Quest for Holiness, 1936, pp.3-18. 3) Man's controlled reason must be brought into perfect harmony with the universal reason. 4) By good deeds man is reborn as a god and finally enters the per- manent something - Nirvana. 5) Erasmus, Zwingli, Colet, More. The present-day Humanists, C. W. Reese, Max Otto, and especially John Dewey, believe that man is the true source of all religious ideas and ideals and that all religious truths can be disclosed by directed cooperative human endeavor. John Dewey, The Common Faith, 26, 32, 56 f . This is merely Cicero's dictum, that "if there were gods, it were better not to risk dealing with them." G. W. Richards, Creative Controversies in Christianity, 1938, p. 219. 6 82 The Means of Grace American representatives of the Persian Mazdaznan philosophy6) and Oriental Yoga philosophy 7) parading as metaphysical cults teach the approachment of God through the will. All these at- tempts, however, ignore the total depravity of the human will and, instead of uniting man and God, only widen the chasm. A second attempt to gain knowledge of God directly centers in man's emotion. Through contemplative exercises and by an ascetic liberation from all created things, especially the body, man is to raise himself to a condition where he can fully penetrate the Deity. This is the method advocated by the Upanishads,8) by Brahmanism,9) Neo- Platonism,lO) and Mysticism. In "Christian" mysticism sense- intoxicating music, Christian art, a highly dramatized liturgy, emotional devotional literature, protracted watch- and prayer- meetings, culminating in ecstasy, are expected to stimulate the spark of divinity in the soul and to assist man in breaking through the barriers of sensual things and to find the Deity within himself. A third group would find God through reason, by reflection, by the intellect. Plato seeks the knowledge by direct reflection, Goethe and all naturalists seek God in nature, Hegel considers history as the source of divine revelation. A psychological classification of man's attempts at finding God is, after all, immaterial. The important thing is that we see the utter futility in man's endeavor to "find the road back to God." This has become very evident as one traces the history of. Modern- ism. Modernism claimed to base its findings on the science (?) of sociology and has failed miserably. In 1932 the two outstanding trends in contemporary theology were said to be: 1. the passing of non-theistic Humanism; 2. the mounting distrust of liberal theol- ogy.H) Modernism has made confusion worse confounded, has 6) In the dualistic conflict between light and darkness man can assimilate the seeds of light by proper breathing, correct diet, and sexual hygiene. 7) By rhythmic swaying, controlled breathing, mental and ascetic exercises man can break the bondage of the world of sense and attain the union of the soul with God. (Cp. Popula1' Symbolics, pp. 468, 471.) 8) Contemplation will lead to the knowledge that the human and the supreme soul are essentially one. 9) A series of reincarnations, attended by purifications through suf- fering, ultimately leads the soul to become conscious of its identity with the Brahman. Upon reaching perfection, the individual soul is ultimately lost in the universal soul. (Pantheism.) 10) Since the individual soul is an emanation from the Deity, it must seek its liberation from the prison-house of the body and material things before it can return to its primal source. Neo-Platonism is basic for Rome's concept of sin and its asceticism. Elements of it are also present in Calvinistic theology. 11) Chas. S. Macfarland, in the Federal Council's Year-book of the American Churches, 1933, p.31. The Means of Grace 83 rightly been called an "amazing confusion," has led to "mutually contradictory results of the modernistic teachers, incertitude, which dogged their essays in historical relativism," 12) and has only led to new and hopeless gropings, so that "nothing is so characteristic of our age as the restlessness of our theological moods." 13) Certainty, absolute certainty, can be attained only in The Scriptural Doctrine of the Means of Grace The situation is the very reverse of what natural man assumes it to be. Not man must seek union with God, but God has already established this union. God has not only made it possible for man to be reunited with Himself, but He is fully and completely recon- ciled with man, 2 Cor. 5: 18,19; Rom. 5: 10. The word %():mAAucrcrsLV can mean only a change of heart, a change from enmity to friend- ship. This is evident especially from the context in 2 Cor. 5, God not imputing their trespasses and depositing the doctrine of recon- ciliation in the preaching)4) The verb denotes punctiliar action in the past (aor. part.). The reconciliation on God's part is accom- plished. As each sinner became guilty through Adam's transgression, so also through Christ's death and resurrection every individual human being has been declared just, Rom. 5: 18, 19. It is an ar- bitrary interpretation to claim that in the first part of v. 18 Jtu'nec; refers to all men and in the second part only to those who come to £aith)5) The so-called objective justification extends over the world, that is, over all men considered as individuals; for the "righteousness of life" came "to all men"; for in Christ's glorious resurrection from the dead we have the actual absolution of the entire sinful world.16) The situation is the reverse of what natural man believes it to be, for a second reason. Not man must penetrate the darkness which hides him from God. Christ is the Prophet, promised and sent by God, and as such He reveals God's grace and infinite love directly and immediately, Matt. 11: 27. In fact, only Christ as the 12) E. E. Aubrey, Present Theological Tendencies, pp. 53, 75. 13) Chas. S. Macfarland, Trends of Christian Thinking, a survey of thirty-six recent volumes in the field of contemporary religion. 14) See Thayer's, Lexicon, s. v. 15) Stoeckhardt, Roemerbrief, ad locum. Cf. Pieper, Dogm., II, p. 412, n. 380. 16) Walther's Easter sermon, Brosamen, p.140. Cpo also his Epistel- pastille, p.211. Walther: "Wie durch den stellvertretenden Tod Christi die Suendenschuld der ganzen Welt getilgt und die Strafe derselben er- duldet worden ist, so ist auch durch die Auferstehung Christi Gerech- tigkeit, Leben und Seligkeit fuer die ganze Welt wiedergebracht und in Christo, als dem Stellvertreter der ganzen Menschheit, ueber aIle Men- schen gekommen." (Quoted in Lehre u. Wehre, 36, p.46.) 84 The Means of Grace eternal Son of God, who is in the bosom of the Father, can reveal the Father to man, John 1:18; 6:46. In Christ's life, words, and deeds man is able to behold the very essence and nature of God, i. e., not only God's justice but especially the infinite grace; for God is Love, John 1: 14. Christ testifies those things which He has heard and seen in the counsels of the Trinity, John 3: 31,32; 8: 26. But in revealing the grace of God to men, Christ also actually offers and conveys this grace, Eph. 2: 17,18. He offers pardon and actually confers it, Matt. 9: 2,6; 11: 28. His words are the truth and actually bring spiritual liberation, John 8: 31,32. Christ's Word, however, not only reveals, not only offers, not only conveys, the grace of God, but His Word also engenders faith; for His words are effec- tive not only when His divine majesty commands the elements to do His bidding, but also when His Word is addressed to sin- burdened consciences. Christ's offer of forgiveness engenders faith in the palsied man's heart. Not only did He speak as one having authority, Matt. 7: 29, but He has the words of eternal life, life- giving words, John 6: 63,68)7) The twofold function of Christ's prophetic office is not restricted to the days of His public ministry. He is the Angel of the Lord who spake with the patriarchs, wrestled with Jacob, spake with Moses, Acts 7: 38, is the spiritual Rock, 1 Cor. 10: 4, the Christ who spake through the prophets, 1 Pet. 1: 10. Neither are we to look for a new prophet or for new revelations, for Christ's revelation is God's last proclamation to mankind, Heb.1: 1,2. In Christ's Word alone can man find a true picture of God. Through Christ's Word alone can the union between man and God be effected. In all ages man must hear God's beloved Son. There is only one dispensa- tion of grace, the dispensation based upon the redemption of Christ and offered to man through the Word of Christ.18) True, the Savior promised His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit, John 14: 16 ff.; 16,7 ff., and that He would glorify the Father and the Son primarily by instructing the disciples more fully and prepare them for the work of proclaiming the Gospel. Matt. 10: 20; 17) M. Reu: "Lautlich und logisch sonstiger Menschenrede gleich, unterschieden sich seine Worte dadurch von allen andern Menschenwor- ten, dass er die ganze Fuelle seiner Gnade und Wahrheit, die ganze Kraft seiner Wunderwirksamkeit, in sie hineinlegte." Die Gnadenmittellehre, p.5. Justus Jonas calls attention to the fact that Gen. 1: 28 is vivum et efficax verbum Dei, imo opus Dei. Plitt, Einleitung zur Augustana, II: 457. (Cf. Trigl., p.998, 75 ff. Luther, St. L. XX: 918 ff.) 18) Montanism, Shakerism, modern Dispensationalism, Russellism, operate on the premise that God deals differently with men in various dispensations, e. g., through the conscience of man, through the Law, through a revelation beyond that contained in the revealed Word of Christ. The Means of Grace 85 1 Cor. 4: 12 f.; John 14: 26. The Spirit is to be active also on others, not only in reproving the world because of sin, John 16: 8-11, but especially by bringing men to the knowledge of Christ, 1 Cor. 12: 3; regenerating them, Titus 3: 5; and assuring the believers of their salvation, Rom. 8: 14. Thus the work of the Spirit stands in close relation to that of Christ, John 16: 13-15.19) It is the Spirit who is now active through Christ's Word both in revealing God's grace to us and in engendering faith in our hearts. This same twofold power which resided in the words of Christ is in the Word through which the Holy Spirit comes to man today. (It is, of course, vain to argue whether the Holy Spirit could exert His power upon man immediately, as He did in the case of John in his mother's womb, of Pa1li, Gal. 1:17; 1 Cor. 11:3.)20) The Scriptures are the life-containing and life-giving Word of God, John 5: 39, which the Pharisees searched (we prefer the in- dicative to the imperative mood in EQuuvci'tE), believing that they would find life in the Scriptures. By finding Christ in the prophets, they would find life; for the promise of salvation is contained in the prophets, Acts 13: 26; Rom. 4: 3-8; 10: 8-10. Absolution for every sinner has been placed into the "Word of Reconciliation" and is being offered through the preaching of the Gospel, 2 Cor. 5: 18-20; Luke 24: 47; Acts 5: 20; Col. 4: 3,4. Not only the oral ministry brings the grace of God, but also the written Word, 1 John 1:4; 2 Thess. 2: 15. The absolution of the individual sinner is offered and brought to him through the Office of the Keys, Matt. 16: 19; 18: 18; John 20: 23, and especially through the Sacrament of Baptism, 1 Pet. 3: 21; Eph. 5: 26, uniting us with the body of Christ, 1 Cor. 12: 13, and through the Sacrament of the Altar. These are the means whereby the Holy Spirit offers, conveys, and seals the treasures of God's grace to man. To ascribe more or less to the Sacraments than to the Word or to assign functions to the Sacra- ments essentially different from those of the Word is unwarranted because the Scriptures do not do it. The Sacraments are essen- tially the Word, the visible Word, the Gospel in the sign-language.21 ) 19) "An das von Christus verkuendete Heilswort, an die von ihm beschaffte Suehne, Versoehnung und Erloesung, an die von ihm hinter- lassenen Stiftungen der Taufe und des Abendmahls schliesst er [der Heilige Geist] sich an und teilt nur mit, was im Gottmenschen fuer uns vorhanden ist." Reu, op. cit., p.3. 20) The enthusiasm of the Reformed will be treated in another article of this series. - Ed. Com. 21) Concering Luther's view as to the power of the Sacrament dif- fering from the power of the Word see Trigl., p. 742, 44; 768,68. See also St. Louis ed. XX, 831. In some sections of the Anglican Church as well as in certain quarters of the Lutheran Church the Sacraments are viewed as means whereby the "corporate life of the Christian society" is estab- 86 The Means of Grace The Gospel, however, as Word and Sacrament, not only reveals, exhibits, offers, conveys, and seals to the sinner the grace of God. But in doing these things, it also quickens and sustains faith whereby the sinner appropriates the offered treasures.22) Even as the Word of Christ during His earthly sojourn proved itself to be the quickening and creating power of God by drawing men to the Father, John 6:44£., cleansing the disciples from sin, 15:3, sanctify- ing them through the truth, 17: 17, so the Holy Spirit operates in and through the Word upon the hearts of the believers. That the Holy Spirit does not work immediately but that His activity is in and through the Word becomes evident when one compares a partial list of passages in which the same or similar activities are ascribed both to the Holy Ghost and to the Gospel. Holy Spirit John 16: 8-11 John 3:5 2 Cor. 4:6 2 Thess. 2: 13 Acts 26: 16-18 John 6: 63a 1 Cor. 2: 10, 13 Rom. 15: 16; 1 Cor. 6: 11 John 14:16 Rom. 8:16 Knowledge of sin Regeneration Illumination, conversion A quickening power Revealing God's grace A sanctifying power The Christian's comfort Assurance WOTd Heb.4:12 Rom. 10:17 1 Pet. 1: 22, 23 John 17:20 2 Cor. 4:4 Eph.3:8,9 2 Thess. 2: 14 John 6:63b Rom. 1: 16, 17 2 Tim. 1:10 John 17:17 Rom. 15:4 Eph.1:13 In revealing, offering, and conveying the grace of God, the Gos- pel at the same time creates the faith which reaches out, and appro- priates these heavenly treasures. Because the Holy Spirit is in the Word, and because the Word bears the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor. 2:4, 5, therefore the Word must bring forth fruit, Col. 1: 6; it cannot be without fruit, Is. 55: 10,11. The Gospel is a heavenly light, not only because it proclaims Christ, the true Light, but because it is the creative power enlightening our hearts, so that we see and know Christ and appropriate His redemption, 2 Cor. 4: 4, 6. True, just as the Holy Ghost must first perform a "foreign office" in lished and maintained. Doct·t'ine in the Ch'U1·ch of England, 1938, p.128. It is an undue emphasis of Baptism when the Church is defined as the communion of baptized believers, Journal of American Lutheran Con- feTence, July, 1938, p.36. "Es ist zwischen Wort und Sakrament nicht ein Unterschied im Hinblick auf Heilsgnade, sondern auf Heilsaneignung." Meusel, Handlexikon, s. v. "Gnadenmittel." 22) The Lutheran dogmaticians have therefore distinguished be- tween vis exhibitivCL, dativa, collativa and vis efjectivCL, operativa. The Means of Grace 87 rebuking sin, so also the Word has the power to crush the sinner, Heb.2:14; Jer.23:28. When it has completed this work, then its regenerative and creative power becomes manifest, a power unto salvation, Rom. 1:16; 10:17. As the almighty word of God in creation called forth the things that were not, so also the Word of Truth made us the first-fruits of His creatures, Jas.1: 18,21. The Word is the seed whereby we are born unto an incorruptible life, 1 Pet. 1: 23. The Word is the power of God whether it is preached, 1 Cor. 1: 18,21; Phil. 2: 16 (1coyo; ~o)'ii~); 2 Cor. 3: 6-9, whether we read the Word, 2 Tim. 3: 15, or whether we use the Sacraments, Titus 3: 5; Matt. 28: 19 (/1U1'hll:EucrU:tE, ~aJt'tl~OV'tEC;) and Matt. 26: 28 (EL~ Ii.cPEIJLV a~uxQ'tLfuv). The Word is effective at all times; for the Spirit is always in the Word. Whenever Christians use the Word, they hold the Sword of the Spirit in their hands, Eph. 6: 17, the life-giving Spirit is in their heart, 'to J"tVEU/1U ~WOJtOLEL, 2 Cor. 3: 6.23) The fact that many do not come to faith through the Gospel does not prove the Calvinistic contention that the Spirit is not in the Viord, but rather that man through unbelief can frustrate the gracious purposes of God, Matt. 23: 37, and can resist the Holy Ghost in resisting His Word, Acts 7: 51,53; 2 Tim. 3: 8. The power of the Word abides in spite of man's unbelief. By the grace of God the Lutheran Church has the distinct honor of having brought to light again the Scriptural doctrine concerning the means of grace. And this Church has the grave responsibility to defend the doctrine as taught in God's Word and deposited in her Confessions against ancient and modern heresies. It is indeed fortunate that Luther was catapulted into two impor- tant controversies concerning the means of grace and that this doctrine received such careful study during the Reformation. As a result of these controversies the Scriptural truth that the Gospel is vis collativa and vis effectiva has been clearly enunciated. Over against the opus operat1Lm of Rome, which wants to retain means but repudiates grace, Luther insisted on means of grace. The Scriptural sola gratia stands and falls with sola fide. Again, the sola fide has no meaning unless we believe the Scrip- tural statement that the entire grace of God has been placed into the Gospel. Faith and promise are correlative terms; for a promise requires faith, and faith is impossible without an ante- cedent promise.24) This central truth runs through the entire 23) By this we do not mean to infer that there is a secret, magical, or supernatural power in the Word, as though the power proceeded from the words per se. See W. Albrecht, Non est vis magica, C. T. M., VII:175. 24) "The promise and faith stand in a reciprocal relation," correla- tiva esse. Trig!., p. 208, 203. 88 The Means of Grace Confessions, and especially through the Apology, whose Leitmotif is: Fides accipit promissam et oblatam remissionem.25 ) The Apology fairly bristles with statements such as: "The Gospel convicts all men that they are under sin ... and offers, for Christ's sake, remis- sion of sin and justification, which is received by faith."26) "Iustifi- catio fit per Verbum." 27) "For thereby [Word and Sacraments] are granted . . . eternal things, as eternal righteousness, the Holy Ghost, eternal life." 28) And Luther in the Large Catechism: "In the Word He gives the Holy Spirit to bring this treasure [Christ's redemption] home and appropriate it to us."29) This is the Scrip- tural doctrine describing the Gospel as vis collativa. The second controversy during the Reformation was directed against the subjective spiritualism of the Enthusiasts. Zwingli and others wanted to retain grace, but they refused to accept means. In maintaining the Scriptural doctrine of the means of grace, Luther had to show the vis effectiva of the Gospel. The briefest statement on this doctrine is contained in Article IV of the Augsburg Confession; "for through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith, where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel." Or: "Spiritual righteousness is wrought in the heart when the Holy Ghost is received through the Word." 3D) Or: "The Sacra- ments are signs and testimonies of the will of God toward us, instituted to awaken and confirm faith in those who use them."31) Luther in the Large Catechism, Third Article, repeatedly speaks of the Word as the organ of the Spirit, for example, Trigl., 688,42; and in the Second Petition he ascribes identical functions to the Word and to the Holy Spirit. Especially the Formula of Concord, in the articles on conversion and election, has occasion again and again to refer to the effective power of the Word. "Moreover, the declaration John 6: 44 that no one can come to Christ except the Father draw him is right and true. However, the Father will not do this without means but has ordained for this purpose His Word and Sacraments as ordinary means and instruments. . .. For the Father draws indeed by the power of His Holy Ghost, however, 25) The student of the Apology will be greatly benefited by a care- ful study of Dr. Bente's masterful treatise Die Lehre von der Rechtjer- tigung nach der Apologie. Lehre u. Wehre, Vol. 40. 26) Trigl., 139, 62. 27) Trigl., 139,67. Justus Jonas renders it thus: "Nun kann man mit Gott doch je nicht anders handeln, so laesst sich Gott nicht er- kennen, suchen noch fassen denn allein im Wort und durchs Wort." 28) Trigl., 85, 8. Cpo also 231, 15. 30) Augsb. Corn., Art. 18. 29) Trigl., 688, 38. 31) Augsb. Conf., Art. 13. The Means of Grace 89 according to His usual order, by the hearing of His holy, divine Word." 32) Our Confessions not only present the Scriptural doctrine con- cerning the means of grace but are also of inestimable value in helping us to orient ourselves in the various modern offshoots of the same errors which are condemned in our Symbolical Books. Whether the pastor is confronted with Neo-Thomism33) or Mys- ticism 34) or the new theological (?) Empiricism 35) or Barthianism 36) or the Anabaptist enthusiasm of the Pentecostals or any of the numerous aberrations in the doctrine of the means of grace, a study of our Confessions will prove extremely helpful in the babel of modern theological thinking. The attacks against the doctrine of the means of grace strike at the very center of Christianity, and therefore there can be no compromise. The antitheses so clearly stated in our confessional writings must stand out in bold relief in present-day orthodox theology. This doctrine involves the questions of reason or revelation; enthusiasm or sola Scriptura; Christ the Teacher or the Savior; salvation by works, emotion, intellect, will, or by grace for Christ's sake; an unreliable sub- jectivism or the objectivity of God's infallible Word; the word of man or the Word of God. But the study of the doctrine of the means of grace is important not only to lead to a clear understanding of the antitheses but 32) Trig!., 1087, 76. Cpo also p. 787, 4, 13; 901, 48-56; 1075, 37 fl. (the presence of the Holy Ghost in the Word is the very foundation of our religion); 1101, 30. 33) There is a revival of Scholastic philosophy and Thomistic "the- ology" and many Roman theologians are advocating Aristotelian dia- lectics and medieval metaphysics as the correct approach to solve the world's ills. Only Scholasticism which makes all studies subservient to one purpose, the Church, can solve the disunity of society. Only Thom- istic theology can give direction to society by showing man's utter de- pendence upon God and the interdependence of the "this-worldly" and the "other-worldly." 34) There has been a marked trend away from the theistic natu- ralism of Bergson toward a new supranaturalism, represented chiefly by the Quaker R. M. Jones. Modem mystics, in the words of Evelyn Under- hill, follow "the innate tendency of the human spirit towards complete harmony with the transcendental order." An intuitive knowledge of God ("inner light") is a valid source of knowing God. Cpo Aubrey, op. cit., p. 199. 35) Empiricism of today claims to be "not a theology of mere postu- lates but a theology of verified truth about reality." Empiricism makes the boast that it deals with proved facts only and that it accepts God because He is "an immediate fact of consciousness." Knudson, Present Tendencies in Religious Thought, p.132 ff. 36) The dialectical theology was discussed by Th. Engelder in C. T. M., Vol. VII. A resume of Aubrey's and Knudson's books on modern theological trends is contained in the Journal of the American Lutheran Conference, 1938, Sept., pp.24-36. Both books show the weaknesses of modern trends in theology from a purely rational viewpoint. 90 'Ilcs ~aftot!l tecl)tc 5telfung oUt 5cf)tift unD feinc Illmt§tiitigreit primarily to assure us of the comforting implications of this doc- trine. The entire corp'us doctrinae is a beautiful whole, in which no doctrine is suspended in vacuo and the article on the Gospel has an important bearing on all other articles of faith. The means of grace are absolutely necessary for the sinner's justification by grace for Christ's sake. Only the Gospel, the depository of God's grace, is the absolutely reliable foundation of our faith. 37 ) In and through the Gospel, not by man's emotions or his own efforts, does the Holy Spirit work conversion. Sanctification, preservation in faith, the assurance of God's grace, in fact, virtually every article of our Christian faith stands in the most intimate relation to the means of grace. The Scriptural doctrine will cheer the pastor in his work; for it assures him that the Word is always efficacious and that the success of preaching does not rest with him. The congre- gation, on the other hand, will also find comfort in this doctrine because it will reject the Donatistic error, which demands personal faith in the pastor for the efficacy of the Word. In spite of the pastor's weaknesses the Gospel remains the power of God unto salvation. This doctrine will also instil the proper missionary spirit into the hearts of our people; for there is no logos spermatikos in every human being, but God works conversion ordinarily only through the Gospel, the means of grace. Until the end of time the Church is bound by the words "Be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost," Acts 2: 38. F. E.MAYER ell. )IDle Die redjt,e $tellung 5ltt ~eiIigen ~d}rift tlie ~mgtiitigfeit be~ ~aftJ.1f~ beftimmt *) ~ie SjeiIige €djrift fagt bon lidj feI6ft aus, ba13 fie in allen 5teUen ®ot±es ~or± ift. ®ot±es ~or± unb SjeUige €djrift becl'en fidj bollig. @s ift nidjt fo, ba13 fidj in bel' SjeiIigen €djrif± neoen anberm audj ®ot±es ~ort oefinbe±, ba13 llnenfdjenhlort unb ®o±tes ~or± barin neoenein" anber" ober burdjeinanberIaufen, fonbem fie ift ®o±tes ~or± bOll unb gana. :;Sebes einaefne ~or±, jeber einaefne €aJ;l ift bas ~ort bes gro13en ®o±tes. stlie ~roplje±en fagen immer unb immer hlieber: ,,€o fpridj± 37) J. A. Moehler, in Symbolism (doctrinal differences between Catholics and Lutherans), makes the claim that the Roman doctrine of Op7.LS operatum is truly objective, whereas the Lutheran position on the means of grace is highly subjective, since faith is required for the salu- tary use of the Sacraments. P. 203 ff. *) Sl::iefes fficfetat fotllie bie foIgenben finb aUf Pastors' Institutes 3ur lBefjJred)ung unb 3um @ebanfenau%taufd) borgclegt morDen.