# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1850 03 19_S113
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Der Lutheraner.

"God's Word and Luther's doctrine shall not pass away, now nor evermore."

Published by the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States.

Edited by C. F. W. Walther.

Volume 6.  St. Louis, Mo., March 19, 1850.  No. 15.

Terms: Der Lutheraner appears once every two weeks at the yearly subscription price of One Dollar for subscribers out of town, who are to pay in advance and bear the postage. — In St. Louis each single number is sold for 5 cents. Only those letters which contain communications for the paper are to be sent to the Editor; all others, however, which contain business matters, orders, cancellations, money, etc., are to be sent to the address: Mr. F. W. Barthel, care of C. F. W. Walther, St. Louis, Mo.

How Great and Ruinous the Error of Those Is, Who Deny to the Preachers of the Gospel the Power to Forgive Sins on Earth.

That the Christian Church, and therefore also its called servants, have the power to forgive sins on earth, is one of those doctrines by which our Evangelical Lutheran Church is markedly distinguished from all other so-called churches. For from the beginning our Church has confessed this doctrine before all the world, not timidly and shamefacedly, but with great earnestness and with the most joyful decision. Thus it is said, among other places, in the ancient Small Catechism of Luther, the chief school-book and household-book of our Church: "Confession embraces two parts, the one, that we confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the confessor, as from God Himself, and by no means doubt, but firmly believe, that our sins are thereby forgiven before God in heaven." And in the same little book the minister is commanded to put the question to every penitent: "Dost thou also believe that my forgiveness is God's forgiveness?" whereupon the penitent was to answer with a comforted "Yes, dear Sir." But it is not in our Church merely the youth who are thus secretly taught. No; when the Lutherans, consisting of princes, jurists, and theologians, were once summoned in the year 1530 at Augsburg to make their Confession, that is, their confession of faith, before Emperor and Empire in the name of our Church, even then they did not by any means deny the doctrine of the power of the Church to forgive sins on earth, but confessed the same frankly and freely before all the world as a precious jewel of the true evangelical doctrine. For thus it is said, among other things, in the 25th Article of the Augsburg Confession, this foundation, this pure apple of the eye of our Church: "Herewith the people are diligently instructed how comforting the word of absolution is to be esteemed, for it is not the voice or word of the man present, but God's Word, who forgives sin, for it is spoken in God's stead and by God's command. Of this command and power of the keys, how comforting, how necessary it is for terrified consciences, is taught with great diligence; moreover, how God requires us to believe this absolution, no less than if God's voice should sound from heaven, and to comfort ourselves joyfully therewith, and to know that through such faith we obtain forgiveness of sins." (Concordienbuch, New York edition, p. 41.)

From this it is plainly to be seen that our Church in its glorious fundamental confession lays so great weight upon the doctrine of absolution that he who renounces this doctrine can by no means lay claim to the name of a Lutheran, but must have a wholly different spirit from our fathers, and must stand upon a wholly different ground of faith.

It is well known, however, that this doctrine belongs to those which at present are denied, rejected, represented as false and dangerous, and opposed in every possible way by almost all denominations, and especially by the Methodist communion. This doctrine of our Church, or rather of the Word of God, is declared to be a remnant of Popery, an invention of domineering priests, and a resting-pillow for carnal, secure men who will not be converted. Perhaps many a weak one has already been made doubtful and perplexed by these blasphemous speeches against this holy institution of God! What shall we now do? Shall we perhaps acknowledge that our Church has been in error on this point from the beginning? Shall we therefore renounce her and undertake a new Reformation of the nineteenth century*)? — God forbid! — Go with me, dear reader, into God's Word, and thou wilt find that our Church also in this doctrine stands upon the unchangeable ground of this divine Word, and that, on the other hand, the error of those who deny to the preachers of the Gospel the power to forgive sins on earth is great and ruinous, yea, greater and more ruinous than one might think.

*) It is truly laughable to read how a certain Mr. Pert, called Lyon, in the last numbers of the Methodist "Apologete" shows what all is lacking in the Lutheran Reformation, and how it is now at last to be brought to completion by the Methodists and, most precious of all, by His All-Wisdom himself. In the 580th number he promises to discover "what remains yet to be done, in order to set the Church back upon her rock of God." From which latter words the dear reader perceives what sort of notion of a church there is in the head of this very newest reformer and "second Luther"; it is, namely, a castle in the air, until now without foundation, under which this great master-builder at last wants to place a foundation of rock. Another proof that we live in the age of progress.

This appears, first, from the fact that it contradicts the plainest words of our dear LORD JESUS Christ. This is quite undeniable, for thus spoke Christ in the last year of His public ministry, according to the account of the Evangelist Matthew (ch. 16, 19) to Peter: "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." But lest it should be thought that Christ gave this power to Peter alone, He added, according to the account of the same Evangelist (ch. 18, 18), some days later, when He had shown how the Church or congregation must exercise the ban: "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Whereby Christ plainly indicates that the power to forgive and to retain sins is not a power conferred upon the preachers alongside of the congregation or Church, but, as our Catechism says, "a peculiar church-power," that is, one belonging to the Church and to her alone and to no other community in the world, and proper-