# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1851 08 19_S206
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

206

Since according to Mr. Schmidt there is no righteous Judge who punishes the unmerciful, and since the soul of man is annihilated in death, it is surely highly superfluous to take much trouble any more with a sick man; let him lie, that he may the sooner dissolve into nothing. We see from this that the deniers of God do not even any longer let the law of love of neighbor stand; for if they did, they would surely nurse their sick neighbor faithfully and lovingly to his last breath, even if it cost them hundreds.

But let us turn away from such base lovelessness, to which the denial of God finally leads: let us refresh ourselves in the blessed light of true love, which shines upon us in the Revelation. Even the natural moral law, which is written in the heart of every man and testifies loudly in the conscience, commands us: Thou shalt love God above all things, and thy neighbor as thyself. This law is confirmed and transfigured by the Word of God. God Himself is essential love, and has revealed Himself to the human race as the creating, redeeming, sanctifying and beatifying love. In God we behold the most perfect model of self-sacrificing love: God the Father gives to the world His only-begotten Son, Christ gave up His life for the human race in the most painful death. We also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. A human soul is infinitely more worth than the whole world with all its glory: therefore we ought to shrink from no sacrifice for our brethren. Behold Christ aright, and a sea of love will show itself to thy enraptured eye, a new blessed life will dawn upon thee, and thou wilt experience in thine own heart that God's Word is the eternal truth. Then wilt thou be truly free morally, then it will become thy joy to serve the true, living God, to whose infinite love thou now opposest thy hatred, in order to sacrifice thyself for thy brethren.

Communication for the Lutheraner.

A Hearty Request.

It will be known to most members of our Synodical connection that the Rev. P. Röbbelen served 2 large congregations in Liverpool with untiring faithfulness and self-sacrificing love for 3 — 4 years. But since at this place, as at many other places in America, people from various regions of Germany live together, the ecclesiastical condition there was in several respects to be called almost deplorable. Pastor Röbbelen therefore had to administer his office, already heavy enough, only with sighing in these congregations. At length here also, and indeed before his call away from Liverpool to Frankenmuth, a separation took place. But even in this the fulfilment of the promise of the Lord, Isa. 55:11, that His Word shall not return void, showed itself; for the Lord had so blessed the faithfulness of my honored predecessor that there was in the congregations a good kernel of people who, more or less livingly convinced of the wholesome doctrine, remained true to the pure confession of our Lutheran Church. So it happened that from these people, concerned for their soul's salvation, in February of this year a call reached me, the undersigned, through the mediation of the Vice-President of our Synod, the Rev. Dr. Sihler, which I followed at once. The great majority of both congregations, on the other hand, who rejected our Synod, has saddled and hired itself a preacher after its own taste. Although the constitution of both congregations demands only a Lutheran preacher, yet this supposedly Lutheran preacher is in deed and truth nothing less than such a one. But since he outwardly answers to the constitution and the majority is satisfied with him, the faithful members, who cannot with a good conscience acknowledge him, have lost both church buildings. The latter, almost disheartened, now see themselves placed in the necessity of building a new one, and, trusting in God's gracious help, have already proceeded to it by the purchase of a piece of land. But since the strength of these few faithful ones is too weak and the demands of a church building to be erected according to conditions here are too high for us, we see ourselves compelled, trusting in the Giver of all good gifts, to claim the help of our fellow believers. We therefore would heartily beg the dear readers of this paper, with reference to Gal. 6:9, 10, not to forsake us in this distress. God loveth a cheerful giver. We are indeed aware that the love of our fellow believers has already been very often claimed in such a way; nevertheless our afflicted situation is very much to be commended to the consideration of all. The attendance at the Sunday divine service is very large, so that a suitable place for this purpose is not to be had here, while on the other hand there is for the present little reckoning to be made on increase, since there are still many weak ones here who, because of the church building to be erected anew, shrink from joining us now. The right to the buildings belonging to us cannot be obtained before the secular courts on account of such a fraud, and therefore we know no other way out than this, in such distress to build a new one as soon as possible. Therefore we hope confidently that our humble and brotherly request, to remember us for Christ's sake, will not be in vain. But the Lord, who turneth the hearts as the rivers of water, and who has promised not to leave a cup of cold water unrewarded, Himself be pleased to move the dear friends to hearty sympathy.

The benevolent readers are requested kindly to send their gifts under the following address:

Rev. F. Steinbach, Liverpool P. O., Medina Co., O.

F. Steinbach, Pastor.

Correction. Since the majority of both congregations has rejected our Synod, and thus out of two a third has arisen, the congregation in Liverpool now still belonging to our Synod is called: St. Paul's Congregation.

The Methodists in Germany.

It was to be expected that these morbid Christians of feeling would transplant their fanatical and law-driving method of conversion to Germany also; and this has indeed for some time been done not without success; for already they have gained a foothold at some points. Unfortunately, in some Lutheran countries lately, namely in Hanover and Brunswick, as the Apologet reports, they have been dealt with violently, and the police did not prevent one of their emissaries from being abused and beaten.

We express our sincere sympathy over this, because history and experience show that by such treatment their haughty zeal for converting is only transformed into haughty martyrdom, and they fall the more into delusion.

They could, moreover, spare themselves time, money and trouble in carrying their method and institutions of conversion into such regions of Germany as are already leavened by the work-righteous, much-busy Christianity of feeling of the Unionist church; for between this and them there is no essential difference; they are one in the non-recognition and misrecognition of the divine means of grace, and especially of the holy Sacraments, with respect to their nature and efficacy; they are further one in the unclearness about the kind and nature of justifying faith, and in the confused jumble of justification and sanctification which they preach and write; there is in both the same urging and driving to legal and work-righteous sanctification, which, however, is unhappily no fruit of sound, justifying faith; in both the little person, the dear Ego, is not dead in the cause of the LORD; for they do not want this alone, indifferent whether and how God carries on His works through them or without them, but they want also to have a say in it and to count for something. And therefore it is indeed certainly to be expected that they will come with their dear Unionist brethren into all sorts of fatal border contacts.

To orthodox and living Lutheran pastors and congregations the Methodists over there will do just as little harm as here; rather will the same testimony be raised there also against them, that they are impure in doctrine and fanatical in practice.

Hopefully they will, on the Lutheran side, the