Via Pieper’s “On the History of the Doctrine of Inspiration,” from Christian Dogmatics, vol. 1, 275-76.

Via Pieper’s “Modernists Seek Unity Through Fundamentals Only”

It is obvious that, with this, an entirely new order of things is being shaped in the Christian Church. The relation of people to the Scripture is entirely changed. People are no longer under, but above, the Scripture. For even if one confesses that all essential parts of the saving truth are found in the Scripture, the determination, what in the Scripture is infallible truth and to be accepted by faith, depends on people. Ultimately, the Scripture does not determine our faith, but people, who distinguish between truth and error in the Scripture. God no longer rules in the Church through the Word of the Holy Scripture, but people are installed as regents in the Church, who draw the distinction between the truth and the supposed error in the Scripture.

This position is Godless. Anyone who assumes errors in Scripture contradicts Christ to His face. He said of the whole Scripture and every single word of it: “And Scripture cannot be broken.” Those who wish to restrict the inspiration of the Holy Scripture contradict the Apostle of Christ who testifies: “All Scripture is inspired of God.”

But here also the Devil attempts to transform himself into an angel of light. The deniers of the inerrancy of Scripture assert that they are dealing in the interest of true faithfulness and piety. They claim against us that faith which is so simply based on the Bible is literalism which promotes a dead orthodoxy. On the other hand, with their position, the matter of Christianity is placed in one’s inner experience. Christians are told to accept that as truth which has in their spiritual experience proved true. In that way, inner faithfulness is supposedly furthered and placed ahead of the externalization of Christianity. Christianity is claimed to be something that finds its certainty in itself and does not need the guarantee in the letters of Scripture.

What is new here is only a number of expressions, inasmuch as one calls this kind of theology nowadays “Christian science”, but can call it more accurately a variation of doctrine from the single principle of the born-again or Christian “I”, out of the Christian consciousness, out of the faith of the Church, etc. The thing is old. We are dealing here with the same thing, the same error, that Luther fought with the Enthusiasts. It is the “Spirit”, which is of itself and through itself so smart and pious that it does not need the external, objectively certain Word of God, yes, feels itself unduly cramped by it. Luther, and after him, our church, speaks of the piety of this spirit, thus: “Everything which is proclaimed about the spirit without this Word (that is, the external Word) and Sacrament, that is the devil.” (SA III.VIII.10; Triglotta p. 496). We must enter the same judgment against the newer theology, insofar as it would lead us from the certain, externally inspired Word of the Holy Scripture to the “inner faith”. It does not impress us that this is being called “science”, and that it is being called the true “faith” does not catch on with us. We know what it is. It is unbelief.

Via Pieper’s lecture, “Our Position in Doctrine and Practice”

On this score, especially the clear teaching of Scripture has been rendered obscure. The Biblical terms ‘by faith’ and ‘through faith’ have been given an entirely unscriptural content. It must be stressed that no intrinsic value dares be ascribed to justifying faith in addition to the grace of God in Christ. This is precisely the meaning of the statement that faith is merely the instrument of receiving the grace of God; and that is exactly what Scripture teaches. In treating of justification Scripture places faith in opposition to all works and all goodness in man. ‘By faith, without the deeds of the Law’ (Rom. 4:5). The Lutheran Confessions declare again and again: ‘The sole office and property of faith is that it is the means or instrument by and through which God’s grace and the merit of Christ in the promise of the Gospel are received, apprehended, accepted, applied to us, and appropriated’ (Trigl. 929, F. C., Sol. Decl., III, 38). ‘Faith justifies and saves, not on the ground that it is a work in itself worthy, but only because it receives the promised mercy’ (Apol., Art. IV [II], 56; 147, ibid., 86; Trigl. 919, F. C., Sol. Decl., III, 13). That is also the meaning of the Lutheran axioms: ‘Faith justifies not in the category of quality, but in the category of relation’; ‘Faith justifies not as an act by itself, but because of the object which it grasps’; ‘Faith justifies not as a work, but as an instrument.’”

Via Volume II, page 437 of Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics

The Ninth Lecture

As I have already indicated, Holy Writ is composed in such a way that the right teaching not only can be discerned but it must be discerned – so long as one remains by the Scripture words. One would have to ignore the clear words of Scripture or do them violence in order to fall into error in any of the doctrines. The history of the Christian church confirms this, in particular the history of the individual false-teachings which in time have been brought into the church. No false teaching or heresy, however, has ever resulted from a genuine misunderstanding of Scripture passages which reveal the individual doctrines. The genesis of every false teaching is rather thus: One has, in fact, read and understood the clear and lucid words of Holy Writ but has found a meaning which is objectionable, a meaning which runs against his interests, the interests of man’s presumed wisdom, or those of a comfortable life and bank account. Bias likewise often resists Scripture’s clear and discernible meaning, especially if one has been raised in a heterodox assembly. Thus they search for a meaning other than the one given in Scripture, a meaning which serves their purposes. In short, they ignore the words of Scripture and construct a doctrine with their own opinions. But then they must also be able to defend it to themselves and others. How? It would not do to openly declare, “What we have here is a doctrine not of Scripture but of our own invention!” Instead they seek passages into which with seeming validity, they can inject their contrived meanings. From this point on they adulterate the sedes doctrinae (seat of doctrine) for themselves as well as for others. Despite such contrivances they contend that their doctrine is absolutely scriptural and thus they are bound not to deviate from it. This is the genesis of all false doctrine, about which we have still more to report.

Reconciled to God! These words express the greatest happiness that mortal man can know. Since the Fall the life of man on earth is filled with sorrow and misery. This is taught by Scripture, and this we know from experience. But for every one who through faith in the Gospel of Christ knows that he is reconciled to God, there is really no more unhappiness on earth: for such a one has overcome the world with all its anguish and woe. That which is terrible here on earth holds no terror for him, for even in the darkest night of tribulations he sees the heavens opened. Poverty, pain, illness, especially chronic and incurable illness, are certainly not easy to bear; but whoever has the assurance of being reconciled to God nevertheless is able to say: “Whom have in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.” Ps. 73, 25.26. Death also is no trifle. Against death the whole world is powerless; not even the greatest genius can escape it. The German poet Schiller confesses in a letter to Baron von Humboldt that he knows of no consolation in the face of death. But he who knows that he is reconciled to God can boldly confess even in the hour of death: “O death, where is thy sting?” 1 Cor. 15,55. Above all it is not easy to give oneself up to be stoned, beheaded, or burned. Nevertheless St. Stephen, beholding the open heaven, Acts 7, 55, kept a cheerful spirit while he was being stoned to death; and John Huss at Constance confidently commended his spirit into his Savior’s hands in the midst of the flames and was even able to offer up a prayer for his benighted accusers. In discussing this subject, Luther declares: “Whoever knows that God is gracious to him walks through life along a path of roses, even in tribulation, and for him the land flows with milk, honey, and precious wine.” (St. L. Ed., II, 1968, 201-205.)

So, then, with the help of God let us adhere to the doctrine of pure grace. While it is true that no one in the world should excel us in amicability and urbanity, it is God’s will and command that we must tolerate no compromise whatsoever in matters of Christian doctrine. Here we must, by God’s grace, stand as firm as a rock. To believe that such a stand will bring the Church to grief is a pernicious world-view; as a matter of fact, that is the only way to build the Church of Christ, as the history of our own Missouri Synod clearly shows. Just because we adhere to the pure doctrine of the Gospel, God has continued to enlarge our field of labor. Let me add another thought: The confession of the pure Christian faith always involves rejection of all opposing errors. Whoever accords error or equivocation a legitimate place alongside God’s Word thereby surrenders divine truth; for it is peculiar to truth that it invariably repulses error. Last, but not least: The true world-view which Christians must strive to maintain implies also holy zeal and faithfulness in preaching the Gospel to the world. That is the actual task with which Christians have been commissioned by their Savior. It is true, they should be patterns of fidelity, also in the discharge of the duties of the earthly calling in which God has placed them; for also such faithfulness will reflect favorably upon their Christian faith in the eyes of the world. That is the one phase of publicity which God desires. But above all a believer must be diligent and faithful in exercising his peculiar Christian calling, namely, in the dissemination of the Gospel here upon earth. As soon as a person becomes a Christian, his citizenship is in heaven, Phil. 3, 20, and his first and foremost task in he world is to lead others with him to heaven. No matter whether he is an industrial magnate or a petty merchant, a feudal lord or a humble peasant, an employer and business executive or a common laborer, the Christian Church always occupies first place among his interests. The affairs of the Church are his favorite subject of conversation in his own family as well as in the company of his fellow Christians. Of all the periodicals he reads his church-papers are to him of the greatest importance, because they keep him where his prayers and contributions are needed most of all. He is of course eager to devote to the service of the Gospel also as much of his earthly goods as possible before the Day of Judgment renders his money and temporal possessions altogether valueless. That is the true faithfulness in the performance of our Christian calling on earth to which Holy Scripture so earnestly incites us.

In the first place, let us not neglect our own souls’ salvation in our zeal for the Church’s work, for which we want to gain new inspiration during these sessions. This admonition may seem superfluous. Some one may say: “How could we neglect to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling since we labor so diligently for the building and spreading of the Christian Church on earth?” However, on this point also we gain the correct world-view from Holy Scripture. St. Paul was extremely active in church-work; he labored more abundantly than all others. Yet he, too, carefully kept in mind his own salvation, as we know from his words: “I keep under my body and bring it into subjection lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away,” 1 Cor. 9, 27. The Church Fathers and our ancient theologians after them cite the case of the craftsmen who assisted Noah, in building the ark; they themselves did not enter the ark, but perished in the Flood. So also we, while building and extending the kingdom of God in earth, must never forget to ask ourselves, Are we truly members of the Christian Church? Now, who is a member of the Christian Church? Christian love certainly demands that we consider as a member of the Christian Church every one who makes an oral confession of his faith in Christ, the Savior of sinners, and who by his conduct does not deny this confession of his lips. It is God’s express will that our Christian love should judge in this way; searching and knowing the heart is God’s prerogative and not our province, and therefore we should not attempt it. The secret thoughts of men God Himself will reveal and judge on the Last Day, Rom. 2, 16. Nevertheless every one of us should continually examine himself as to whether he is in the faith and whether his heart is rightly disposed toward the God’s kingdom. Of this our Savior earnestly reminds us when He says: “The kingdom fo God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo here! or lo, there! For behold, the kingdom fo God is within you,” Luke 17, 20.21. The kingdom of God is indeed a potent force in the world. It is for the sake of that kingdom that the world still stands, as we have already seen. But to the human eye this kingdom is invisible, since it consists of those who sincerely believe in the Savior of sinners. This faith, which God alone can see and which the individual believer ascertains by way of self-examination, makes one a member of the Christian Church. Let me illustrate:Here in Fort Wayne, here in this assembly, all those – and only those – are members of the Christian Church who through the work of the Holy Ghost in their hearts regard themselves as lost and condemned sinners and for forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation rely alone on Christ’s vicarious atonement. Of this fact we are reminded by our Savior’s words: “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

What is the purpose of the world so long as God allows it to exist? What, too, is the purpose of man’s living in the world? Quite manifestly this knowledge is essential to our Christian world-view. Whoever does not know the purpose of the world and of his own existence in the world leads an aimless, driftless life. But as for all those who know for what purpose the world still exists and why they themselves are in the world, their path through life is illuminated by a bright and radiant light. However, here again we are confronted with the question, Do we really have reliable and certain information concerning the purpose of the world and of our own existence? Indeed, we have, provided we go to the right information bureau. In His Word, in Holy Scripture, God discloses to us the purpose of the world and of our own lives in such detail that only those who reject the Bible remain in ignorance and darkness. Holy Scripture is very explicit in teaching that the present world exists, by virtue of God’s express will and providence, for the sole purpose that the Gospel of Christ, the message of God’s gracious forgiveness of sins for the sake of Christ’s vicarious satisfaction, may be proclaimed in it. In Matt. 24, 14 Christ tells us this very clearly and emphatically; He engraves it, as it were, upon brass and granite by declaring: “This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness into all nations, and then shall the end come,” namely, the end of the world. God has indeed purchased mankind at a great cost. With the blood of Jesus Christ, His incarnate Son, He has paid the price for sinful man’s eternal salvation, and now He permits the world to stand in order that in it the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ may be proclaimed and that this Gospel-message may be accepted by men through faith.

The proclamation of the free remission of sins through faith in Christ was not originally the purpose of the world; for in the beginning sin was unknown. Then no Gospel of the forgiveness of sin was necessary; for man was not yet a sinner, but lived in perfect communion with God according to his concreated divine knowledge and his holiness of will. At that time this earth was the beautiful abode of man, who was without blemish in body and soul, being not yet disfigured by sin. As the Biblical record informs us in the second chapter of Genesis, God placed man into the Garden of Eden, into Paradise. Then, however, came the Fall. Misled by Satan, man ate the fruit of the tree concerning which God had commanded him: “Thou shalt not eat of it.” Gen. 2, 17. By this act man transgressed the divine commandment and thus fell into the greatest of all evils – he became guilty before God. Through this guilt he forfeited his blessed communion with God, so that he fled from Him in terror, as we read in the third chapter of Genesis. But since man had become a sinner, he lost also Paradise, his original, delightful home. His habitat henceforth was a sin-cursed earth, this poor earth on which we are living, which brings forth thorns and thistles and upon which must eat his bread in the sweat of his brow. By God’s grace, however, sinful man may be restored to communion with God; he may return to Paradise, and a Paradise at that which is more beautiful and more glorious than was the first.

Our third thesis reads: “The objections which are raised against the inspiration of Scripture are invalid.”

The objections to the verbal inspiration of Holy Scripture do not manifest great ingenuity or mental acumen, but the very opposite: they serve as a shining example of how God inflicts His just punishment upon all critics of His Word – they lose their common sense and become utterly unreasonable and illogical. We shall learn this fact as we review the alleged objections of the Bible critics… Now the argument of those who deny the divine inspiration of Holy Scripture runs as follows: If all Scripture were given by inspiration of God, then the entire Scripture would have to be written in the same style. Although critics make much of this argument, it is extremely stupid. We reply: The variety of style in the Bible does not militate against the doctrine of inspiration; on the contrary, it is rather demanded by it, since God did not speak merely through one man, but through many, each of whom had his own style and each of which styles God employed as He found it in the individual writer. God could not have used His own divine style to speak to us; for we should not have been able to comprehend it. This truth is made evident in 2 Cor. 12, 4, where the apostle tells us that he “was caught up into paradise, where he heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter,” that is to say, among men here upon earth. God be praised for His grace that impelled Him to speak to us in the human style of the various holy writers in order to lead us to heaven. The heavenly style, which we cannot understand here upon earth, we shall fully understand in the mansions of our Father in heaven. Quanstedt says: “As the holy writers spoke or wrote according to training or habit, either in simple language or in a more lofty style, so the Holy Spirit used them; for He wished to accommodate Himself to them and condescend to them.” (I. 109) The human speech of Holy Scriptures may be likened to the conduct of Christ during the thirty-three years that He sojourned here on earth. To be able to redeem us, that is, to fulfill in our place the divine Law and to suffer and die in our stead, Christ had to take upon Himself the form of a servant and to be made in the likeness of men. Phil. 2, 7. Had He appeared in His divine glory, every one in the land of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, would have fled from His presence. Similarly, since He has gained salvation for mankind, He again appears in human form in Holy Scripture in order that He may bestow on us the fruits of His redemption. This could not be done by means of heavenly language, which no man can understand, but only in that speech and mode of expression which men here upon earth employ when they converse with one another.