# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1851 09 30_S23
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

23

A Rebuke by Luther

1. against Hearers, who imagine they have learned the doctrine of Christ through and through, and

2. against Preachers, who from conceit of wisdom have their thoughts printed, partly such as, from sloth, will not study for themselves, but rely solely upon Postils.

(See Luther's Preface to M. J. Spangenberg's Postille of the year 1542. Werke, Hall. Ed., Tom. XIV, 376. ff..

Saint Paul writes here and there that Christ our Lord is a mystery, Mysterium, and the holy Church (Ephesians 5, 32) with Christ, her Bridegroom, may well also be called a mystery. This I once held, in the days when I had to let myself be called a Doctor of Holy Scripture, to be a poor, plain saying, which I understood very well. But now that I (God be praised) have become once more a poor pupil in Holy Scripture, and the longer the less I can do, I begin to look upon such words with wonder, and find from experience this gloss, that it must be called a mystery: for however plainly and clearly the Apostles (also with miracles,) preached of it, yet it remained hidden and secret to the highest and wise men on earth, as he says, Matt. 11, 25: Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes, etc. Is that not wonder enough? Is that not secret enough! that which is so openly preached, and shines brighter than the sun, and moreover is confirmed with so many great miracles (which no one can deny, God must do them,) yet the highest, the wisest, the holiest, the best, here shall be blind, deaf, and senseless, so that they cannot see, hear, or feel it? Counsel here, counsellors, good, what is this? There is nothing more manifest, and yet nothing more secret: nothing is more comprehensible than Christ in the manger and on the cross, nothing is more incomprehensible than Christ at the right hand of God and Lord over all. Thus also is his Word, which preaches of him, made accordingly.

2 Our own experience must also bear witness, how abundantly, brightly and clearly we have the same wholesome Word of Christ? But to whom is such a manifest, bright, clear light known and acceptable? Is it not a mystery and secret enough, not only to the Papists, but also to our own, who almost boast themselves Evangelical? who think nothing else, when they have once read or heard it, but that they are so thoroughly sated and have enough, that they could well teach all the Apostles, to say nothing of their poor pastors and preachers. Such hold that it is no mystery nor deep art, but a spoonful of wisdom, which they may drink down in one swallow.

3. Now, what shall we preachers do, who are to govern churches among and over such archangels? This we will do, we will let them know everything better, and a hundred times better, than we ourselves. And Christ shall be with them no mystery nor secret, but an empty nutshell, of which they, long before they were born, have hollowed out the kernel and thrown away the shells; but we will in the meantime suckle at this mystery, as a child at the breast of its mother, until we also get something of it for once, and not let ourselves be weaned from it so early and so soon, as these lofty people wean themselves and are ashamed to suck the mother's breasts. For they can run by themselves before the legs and feet have grown on them.

4. In sum, we must let the world and the devil run their course, and with preaching, rebuking, exhorting, keep on continually, for the sake of those who are to know such a mystery: to the others it is preached as the rain falls into the water, or, as our Lord says, Matt. 13, 19, is sown by the wayside; the mystery will yet bear fruit only on the fourth part of the field. Therefore I am well pleased that these and like books should come among the people, not only to reveal such a mystery, but also to forestall other, more false books. For they are not all pure who now write, and every man wishes to stand for sale in the shop, not that he would reveal Christ or his mystery: but his own mystery and fine thoughts, which he holds over Christ's mystery, he will not have for nothing, thereby hoping to convert even the devils, though he has never yet converted a gnat, or can convert, unless the perverting be the worst of it.

5. But nevertheless again there are some lazy pastors and preachers who are also not good, who rely upon such and other more good books, so that they can take a sermon from them, pray not, study not, read not, seek nothing in Scripture, just as though one ought not to read the Bible for that purpose. They use such books, like the Formular and Calendar, to earn their yearly living, and are nothing but parrots or jackdaws, that learn to repeat without understanding: whereas our and such theologians' meaning is this, to direct them thereby into Scripture and to admonish them that they ought to think, even themselves, to defend our Christian faith after our death, against the devil, world and flesh. For we shall not stand forever at the head, as we now stand.

6. And as our forefathers inherited this mystery, though by the Pope it was dreadfully made void; so we bequeath it to them also; and though they will not have so much to do to sweep out such abominations as we have done, yet they will have just as much (if not more) to do to withstand the devil and to ward off, that he cast not such abominations again into the Church. Therefore it is said, watch, study, attende lectioni. In truth, thou canst not read too much in Scripture, and what thou readest well, thou canst not understand too well, and what thou understandest well, thou canst not teach too well, and what thou teachest well, thou canst not live too well. Experto crede Ruperto. It is the devil, the world, our flesh, that rage and storm against us. Therefore, dear lords and brethren, pastors and preachers, pray, read, study, be diligent; verily it is not a time for idling, snoring and sleeping, in this evil, shameful time. Use your gift which is entrusted to you, and reveal the mystery of Christ: If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant, as St. Paul says, 1 Cor. 14, 38. Since Baptism and Sacrament are here, we must not keep silent the Word of the mystery. It will be found well enough, when we have done our part, Amen.

The Ecclesiastical Condition of the German Protestants in New Orleans.

Rev. C. Braun, missionary of the Lutheran Synod of Pittsburgh to Texas, was, for lack of shipping opportunity, compelled to remain a whole week in New Orleans, and gives a lamentable picture of the ecclesiastical condition of the German non-Catholics there, of whom a great number are said to be present.

There are, namely, four congregations there calling themselves "evangelical," with pastors of the same name, which however stand in no synodical fellowship with one another; church attendance is exceedingly small, so that on Sunday in a larger congregation there were only about 30 hearers present; by far the greatest part of these Evangelicals go on Sundays to the gardens, to the balls, and to the drinking houses. No preacher could tell the inquirer the number of communicants in his congregation; of announcement for confession and churchly pastoral care there is naturally no thought, and Mr. Braun surely thinks not unjustly that the people there have preachers only in order to baptize their children, to marry them, to administer the holy Lord's Supper, and to bury the dead with church rites.

Of church discipline, commanded in God's Word, there is naturally likewise nowhere any mention. The whole "evangelical" church system in New Orleans accordingly seems a quite loose, external thing, and of a sound congregational life not the faintest beginning appears to be present.

Missionary Braun has now made to those preachers the well-meant but hardly correct proposal to found new congregations with a good constitution and discipline, and to gather therein all who felt an interest in God's Word.

But how—we fairly ask—if there were none such? or if indeed some were present, is it then the way of God and the right manner, on the basis of a church-order however good, to gather a little congregation out of the wild, rude crowd? Not so; but God's Word alone, and chiefly the preaching of Christ crucified, with demonstration of the Spirit and of power, can do such a work; this is the one divine order, even out of the run-wild, in the service of Mammon and of the flesh sun-