# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1849 05 15_S146
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

146

or smite armies to pieces, but when he lies miserably on the ground, without his having committed any sinful relapse, and wails piteously; for it seems to him as though God had hidden His gracious countenance and had directed His eyes like flames of fire only upon his old and new sins; then he experiences much and great anguish; he is afraid, so that his skin creeps, and he is terrified at the judgments of God; the arrows of the Almighty are within him, the poison whereof drinketh up his spirit like water, and the terrors of God are set in array against him. Satan, law, and conscience rise up together as witnesses against him and hold before him the immeasurable debt-register of his whole life, and the devil does what he can to hide from him the grace of God behind His holiness and righteousness, and to paint the sin of man to him as greater than Christ's merit, that the tempted man may fall into the unbelief of despair and fall away altogether from Christ.

What now? what gives the tempted man a firm and sure comfort, when by God's decree such a time comes over his soul? Will perhaps then the counsel of the Methodist pastors take effect, which urges him to prayer, in order to regain the feeling of grace and the sensations of faith? Not so; for he just cannot pray as he would gladly do, his faith is just no flame that leaps up mightily to heaven, but like a coal smouldering under the ashes; he can scarcely give vent with a sigh to the anguish of his heart. Equally unfruitful, however, proves another counsel of the Methodist, since this one points him to his repentance and conversion experienced inwardly at an earlier time.

For first the exhorted man knows full well that his repentance and conversion are nothing but patchwork and botchwork, which can indeed punish man but cannot comfort him; and then, in the anguish of temptation the work of God therein is hidden from him; and while at this time he does not feel the kisses of love of the heavenly Father, who formerly ran to meet him, the returning prodigal son, and made him feel in his heart the sweetness of His merciful love and of His grace drawing him to Himself, but rather the rods of wrath of a judge and avenger, it seems to him rather, at the thought of the former experiences of grace, as though he had now fallen away and the LORD had turned His mercy away from him.

Nor will it any longer help the tempted man aright, if one holds before him comforting and grace-rich mighty and pithy texts from Holy Scripture, for in his despondent and fainthearted condition he does not venture to appropriate this comfort; rather the terrible sayings of threat and judgment, as for example Heb. 6, 4—8., 10, 26. 27., John 15, 6., crowd in between, since in the anguish of his soul he regards himself as one who has really fallen away.

Then there is nothing more comforting than to remind the comfortless man of his Baptism and to assure him of the firm covenant of grace which God has made with him especially therein, and has adopted him as His child for Christ's sake; and since he does not willfully and deliberately despise such grace, and his only longing and desire is directed to being sure of this grace even now, he should by virtue of his Baptism only press straight on, break through the thick fog of temptation, and hold fast the eternally faithful and true God, only in childlike and simple faith, be it ever so weak, in His promise of grace, which He once for all spoke at his Baptism through the mouth of His servant.

It is well known how Dr. M. Luther, when Jerome Weller was likewise in a grievous temptation and received no thorough comfort through anything, raised him up out of his misery by the one question, and dispersed the dark thunderclouds at once: "Are you not baptized?"

3.) The third part of the right use of Holy Baptism is this, that a man, even in case of actual and even grosser and longer apostasy, and after he has for a good while turned away from God and toward the devil and his ways and works, still finds the door of grace and the Father-heart of God open, if like the prodigal son he returns sincerely and truly to the Father's house and firmly comforts himself with the unchangeable, faithful God, who in Holy Baptism established with him by name and personally a covenant of grace and once for all adopted him for Christ's sake as His dear child and heir.

Though he may have wandered about in the world ever so long, covenant-breaking and faithless, may have whored after strange gods and come down to the swine and the husks, the compassionate Father-eye of the God of his Baptism has nevertheless followed him everywhere, and precisely for the sake of the holy covenant of Baptism He lets His apostate and lost child fall into all manner of wholesome tribulation, and through His Holy Spirit in His Word strikes again and again at his heart, that he may at last smite upon himself, and seek again his faithful covenant God, confess his sin humbly and contritely, and thereafter find the Father's arms open again and become partaker of all the goods and rights of the Father's house, that is, of the holy Church.

II. Before we now treat more particularly of the misuse of Holy Baptism, it will not be out of place first to remark in general that the misuse of a thing good in itself does not abolish its nature and the blessing of its right use; the estate of worldly government, for example the estate of marriage and the household, are and remain divine ordinances, even though there are, alas, many unjust judges and ungodly married people; gold, pearls, and precious stones lose nothing of their value, even if a harlot adorns herself with them. Just so it is also with the misuse of Holy Baptism, for it takes nothing at all from its nature and worth, even though there are, alas, ever so many Lutherans,

1.) who rely upon it in self-made and work-righteous doing and practice, without having the right repentance toward God and the true living faith in our LORD JESUS Christ. These are the nominal and hypocritical Christians, who indeed have the appearance of a godly nature, but deny the power thereof, and who are in the Church as the chaff among the wheat, as the bad fish in the net. In view of such people the enthusiasts accuse, quite wrongly, Holy Baptism and our pure doctrine concerning it and the right use of the same; for what can it help, if impenitent and self-righteous people rely upon it just as carnally as the Jews upon their descent from Abraham and upon circumcision? But what does John the Baptist preach to these dead people, who indeed had circumcision but not the faith of Abraham, and descended from him only carnally, but not spiritually? "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance; and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." Matt. 3, 8—10. The same wholesome sermon of rebuke, however, every faithful Lutheran preacher delivers, without boasting, to the dead Lutherans of his congregation, without needing in so doing the brotherly co-operation of the dear Methodists. There it says also: "Say not within yourselves, ye who have a name that ye live, and are dead — say not within yourselves: 'We have Christ for our Redeemer, we are baptized and God's children!' I say unto you, God can raise up children for Himself from stony-hearted heathen, and sweep you away by swift judgments, if ye repent not."

O ye wretched, self-righteous, work-righteous Pharisees, led astray by the devil of pride, will ye by your wilful impenitence and unbelief continue to make vain the intercession of the Son of God for you unfruitful fig trees, which He makes precisely for the sake of Baptism for you, and at last turn it into a curse for you? For will it not befall you, if ye thus persist, as it did the fig tree at Jerusalem, which was an image of the Jewish people and which the LORD cursed, because He found on it only leaves and no fruit? Will ye not also be struck dumb with terror, when the King, with eyes like flames of fire, who searcheth the hearts and reins, shall recognize you in the shame of your nakedness and say to you: How camest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment? Bind them hand and foot, and cast them into outer darkness; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.