# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1851 08 19_S204
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

204

of justification not to pour over it so superficially and smear it, and so to heal the wounds only on the surface: No, we must at the same time, with the forgiveness of sins through the blood and the wounds of Christ, also be actually healed, so that we also obtain dominion over sin, and become quite other, new men. Man also cannot become partaker of the absolution, justification and acquittal from sin, much less be truly glad of it in his conscience, unless he first, on account of his sins, feels the accusations of the Law and of an evil conscience, and is thereby made godly sorrowful, broken and cast down; for the Lord comforts only all that mourn, Ps. 61., and raises up all that are bowed down, Ps. 146. and looks only upon the afflicted, who are of a broken spirit, and helps those who are of a contrite mind, Ps 34. the sacrifices that please God are a troubled spirit: a troubled and contrite heart, Thou, God, wilt not despise. Ps. 51.

And this is just what Chemnitz means, when he says: The whole doctrine of justification cannot be understood more simply, more rightly and more fittingly, nor applied to an earnest use in the exercises of repentance and faith, than from observing the judicial sense of the word justification; as the example of many Fathers shows, who often preach excellently of works and merits: but in their devout meditations and exercises of repentance and faith, where they picture to themselves this image of the divine judgment and this judicial process, they explain the doctrine of this article with the sweetest sayings. —

Continuation follows.

(Communicated.)

Methodism.

Mr. Nast had, in Nos. 13 and 14, falsely accused the Evangelical Lutheran Church of teaching: "that the means of grace save infallibly; that the sacraments have an indwelling divine power, by virtue of which all who receive them could be sure of salvation; that the use of the sacrament, without the obedience of faith, could save by the inherent power indwelling the sacrament; that the sacraments have a power saving in and of itself." The sense of these various accusations we had briefly summed up and stated: "With these words Mr. Nast charges us with the following shameful error, as though we believed that whoever has but once been sprinkled with the baptismal water, whoever has but partaken of the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, will infallibly be saved, no matter whether he believe or not." Every impartial reader will have to admit that we have herewith rendered exactly and faithfully the sense lying in Mr. Nast's words and therefore resulting of itself from them. If, therefore, Mr. Mulfinger in No. 27 of the Apologete will not admit this, he thereby testifies only to his want of understanding and of good will.

How great, in general, the ignorance of this wretched man is, he furnishes in his article the saddest proof. He charges us with having written: "We contend against Mr. Nast not: because we hate this miserable liar." That we have by no means said. If Mr. Mulfinger understood German, he could not have so misunderstood us. We beg him to look at Lutheraner No. 21. There it reads literally thus: "We contend, however, against Mr. Nast, not because we hated this miserable liar; — we pity him, that he hardens himself more and more; — but because we wish for the children of God who are held captive in the Methodist sect the comfort of the right faith and the treasure of the full truth." Every sensible German can understand this sentence in no other way than thus: "We contend, however, against Mr. Nast, not perhaps on this account, because we hated this miserable liar," etc. We said, therefore, with these words: We do not hate Mr. Nast, but rather we pity him, that he hardens himself more and more. Would that Mr. Mulfinger might humbly acknowledge his boundless ignorance, and cease to write about things of which he understands nothing.

This also Mr. Mulfinger testifies most plainly through his article, that he does not possess the grace of sanctification. for otherwise he would not so shamelessly transgress Christ's commandment: "Judge not, that ye be not judged." He says of me that I would gladly "in the blindness of my heart, filled hideously with hatred, shut heaven against everyone other than an Old Lutheran.", "Such a narrow head would deal more terribly with his fellow Christians than any pope or inquisitor ever did, if he had the power thereto." Thus he judges of the ground of my heart, and thereby intrudes upon the office of God, the only Searcher of hearts. Moreover, he has no right at all so to condemn me; for I had said, No. 21 of the Lutheraner, that we love the children of God who are held captive in the Methodist Babylon as our brethren in Christ; but combat the Methodist seducers and false teachers with the Word of God. And that, indeed, we do after the word of Christ: Beware of false prophets, beware of false prophets. Matthew 7, 15. But the Methodist preachers are false prophets, for in several points they deny the clear truth of the Holy Scripture. God's Word says that Baptism is the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, and that in the Holy Supper we receive Christ's body and blood, Tit. 3, 5. 1 Cor. 11, 24, 25. Both of these the Methodist preachers deny, who, as is well known, degrade the holy sacraments to empty signs. They take from the sacraments the kernel, and leave only the empty shells and husks of them; and thereby they rob their congregations of all the infinite comfort which lies in the right understanding and in the believing use of the holy sacraments. Therefore the love for the children of God, who are hidden also in the Methodist sect, constrains us to uncover the lies and false doctrines of the Methodist preachers and to warn them against them. Moreover, we do not hate the Methodist preachers, but pity them, when they harden themselves. Therefore we should by no means deal "terribly" with the Methodists, if we had the power thereto, but should use it only for their good. Mr. Mulfinger, for example, if he showed himself worthy of it, we should send to a good school and have instructed in the German language.

We had, with John 1, 8, refuted the old Methodist error concerning the grace of sanctification, as though a man could already in this life attain to sinless holiness. Even upon Mr. Mulfinger God's Word makes some impression, for he says of it: "I confess that the Gentleman who sent it in almost stunned me by this powerful refutation." . . . . Yet Mr. Mulfinger does not understand the following verse, and asks "how much sin may still remain in the heart after the cleansing through Christ." Although we must sadly fear that Mr. Mulfinger is only mocking the truth, yet for the sake of honest souls we will answer thereto.

The Holy Scripture distinguishes between justification and sanctification, and describes justification as a judicial act of God. The Law, namely, condemns man to eternal damnation, because he has transgressed God's commandments and infinitely offended God's majesty. But the Gospel points the terrified sinner to Christ, who in our stead has perfectly fulfilled the Law and has fully atoned for all the punishments which we have deserved by our sins. Whoever now lays hold of Christ with true faith is justified by God, that is, God reckons to him Christ's righteousness and merit and forgives him for Christ's sake all his sins. Upon the justification of man follows at once his sanctification. When, namely, man through the grace of the Holy Ghost has become believing in Christ and is thus justified, the Holy Ghost begins to sanctify man and to renew him after the image of God, in that He gives him power to break the dominion of sin, to love God more and more and to fulfil His will ever more perfectly. But justification and sanctification differ in this, that justification is perfect, but sanctification in this life is still imperfect. For the righteousness of Christ is a perfect one, and it remains also a perfect one, though