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opera et scelera (qualia sunt libi- compelled to the committing of evil works and crimes, such as unlawful lusts, acts, rapine, murders, thefts, and the like.

dines vaga, rapina, cædes, furta, et similia) cogi.

II. We repudiate, also, that gross error of the Pelagians, who have not hesitated to assert that man by his own powers, without the grace

II. Repudiamus etiam crassum illum Pelagianorum errorem, qui asserere non dubitarunt, quod homo propriis viribus, sine gratia Spiritus Sancti, sese ad Deum of the Holy Spirit, has ability to convertere, Evangelio credere, legi convert himself to God, to believe divinæ ex animo parere, et hac the gospel, to obey the divine law ratione peccatorum remissionem from his heart, and in this way to ac vitam æternam ipse promereri merit of himself the remission of valeat. sins and eternal life.

III. Besides these errors, we re

III. Præter hos errores rejicimus et Semipelagianorum fal- ject also the false dogma of the sum dogma, qui docent, hominem Semi-Pelagians, who teach that man propriis viribus inchoare posse by his own powers can commence suam conversionem: absolvere au- his conversion, but can not fully tem sine Spiritus Sancti gratia accomplish it without the grace non posse. of the Holy Spirit.

IV. Item, cum docetur, licet IV. Also the teaching that, alhomo non renatus, ratione liberi though unregenerate man, in rearbitrii, ante sui regenerationem spect of free-will, is indeed, anteinfirmior quidem sit, quam ut cedently to his regeneration, too inconversionis suæ initium facere, firm to make a beginning of his own atque propriis viribus sese ad conversion, and by his own powers Deum convertere, et legi Dei toto to convert himself to God, and obey corde parere valeat: tamen, si the law of God with all his heart; Spiritus Sanctus prædicatione yet if the Holy Spirit, by the preachverbi initium fecerit, suamque ing of the word, shall have made a gratiam in verbo homini obtu- beginning, and offered his grace in lerit, tum hominis voluntatem, the word to man, that then man, by propriis et naturalibus suis vi- his own proper and natural powers, ribus quodammodo aliquid, licet can, as it were, give some assistance id modiculum, infirmum et lan- and co-operation, though it be but

guidum admodum sit, conversio- | slight, infirm, and languid, towar er nem adjuvare, atque cooperari, et his conversion, and can apply a in seipsam ad gratiam applicare, prepare himself unto grace, appris præparare, eam apprehendere, am- hend it, embrace it, and believe tky, plecti, et Evangelio credere posse.

gospel.

ce

V. Item, hominem, post regeV. Also that man, after regencis, nerationem, legem Dei perfecte ation, can perfectly observe an observare atque implere posse, fulfill the law of God, and that this eamque impletionem esse nostram fulfilling is our righteousness becoram Deo justitiam, qua vitam fore God, whereby we merit eteræternam promereamur. nal life.

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VI. Rejicimus etiam damna- VI. We also reject and condemn musque Enthusiastarum erro- the error of the Enthusiasts,' who rem, qui fingunt, Deum imme- feign that God immediately, apart diate, absque verbi Dei auditu, from the hearing of the Word of et sine Sacramentorum usu, ho- God, and without the use of the mines ad se trahere, illuminare, sacraments, draws men to himself, justificare et salvare. enlightens them, justifies and saves them.

VII. Item, Deum in conver- VII. Also, that God in the resione et regeneratione hominis generation of man utterly abolishes substantiam et essentiam veteris the substance and essence of the Adami, et præcipue animam ra- old Adam, and especially the rationtionalem penitus abolere, novam- al soul, and creates from nothing in que animæ essentiam ex nihilo, that conversion and regeneration a in illa conversione et regenera- new essence of the soul.

tione creare.

VIII. Item, cum hi sermones VIII. Also, when such statements citra declarationem usurpantur, as these are used without explanaquod videlicet hominis voluntas, tion, that the will of man, before ante conversionem, in ipsa con- conversion, in conversion itself, and versione, et post conversionem, after conversion, is set against the Spiritui Sancto repugnet, et quod Holy Ghost, and that the Holy

1 'Enthusiastœ' vocantur, qui neglecta prædicatione verbi divini cœlestes revelationes Spiritus exspectant.

'Enthusiasts are those who, neglecting the preaching of the divine Word, yet expect celestial revelations of the Spirit.

ofpiritus Sanctus iis detur, qui Ghost is given to those who of set dr proposito et pertinaciter ipsi purpose and obstinately resist him. et sistunt. Nam Deus in con- For God in conversion of unwilling men makes willing men, and dwells

ersione ex nolentibus volentes ucit, et in volentibus habitat, ut ilugustinus loqui solet.

in the willing, as Augustine is wont to speak.

But as concerns certain dicta,

Quod vero ad dicta quædam, tum Patrum, tum Neotericorum both of the Fathers and of certain quorundam Doctorum attinet: modern doctors, such as the followDeus trahit, sed volentem trahit: ing: God draws, but draws a willet hominis voluntas in conver- ing man, and man's will in consione non est otiosa, sed agit version is not idle, but effects somealiquid: judicamus hæc forma what we judge that these are not sanorum verborum non esse ana- agreeable to the form of sound loga. Afferuntur enim hæc dicta words. For these dicta are adad confirmandam falsam opinio- vanced for the confirming of the nem de viribus humani arbitrii false opinion of the powers of the in hominis conversione, contra human will in the conversion of doctrinam, quæ soli gratiæ di- man, contrary to the doctrine which vinæ id opus attribuit. Ideoque attributes that work to divine grace ab ejusmodi sermonibus, quando alone. And therefore we judge de conversione hominis ad Deum that we ought to abstain from exagitur, abstinendum censemus.

pressions of such sort in treating of the conversion of man to God.

Contra autem recte docetur, But, on the other hand, it is rightquod Dominus in conversione, ly taught that the Lord in converper Spiritus Sancti tractionem sion, through the drawing (that is, (id est, motum et operationem) the movement and operation) of ex hominibus repugnantibus et the Holy Spirit, of resisting and nolentibus volentes homines fa- unwilling makes willing men, and ciat, et quod post conversionem that after conversion, in the daily in quotidianis pænitentia exer- exercises of penitence the will of citiis hominis renati voluntas man is not idle, but co-operates non sit otiosa, sed omnibus Spi- also with all the works of the Holy ritus Sancti operibus, quæ ille Spirit which he effects through per nos efficit, etiam cooperetur.

IX. Item, quod D. Lutherus IX. Also, whereas Dr. Luther scripsit, hominis voluntatem in has written that the will of man in conversione pure passive se ha- conversion is purely passive, that is bere: id recte et dextre est acci- to be received rightly and fitly, piendum, videlicet, respectu di- to wit: in respect of divine grace vinæ gratiæ in accendendis novis in kindling new motions, that is, motibus, hoc est, de eo intelligi it ought to be understood of the oportet, quando Spiritus Dei per moment when the Spirit of God, verbum auditum, aut per usum through the hearing of the Word or Sacramentorum hominis volun- through the use of the sacraments, tatem aggreditur, et conversionem lays hold of the will of man, and atque regenerationem in homine works conversion and regeneraoperatur. Postquam enim Spi- tion in man. For after the Holy ritus Sanctus hoc ipsum jam Spirit has already wrought and operatus est atque effecit, homi- effected this very thing, and has nisque voluntatem sola sua di- changed and renewed the will of vina virtute et operatione im- man by his own divine virtue and mutavit atque renovavit: tunc working alone, then, indeed, this revera hominis nova illa volun- new will of man is the instrument tas instrumentum est et organon and organ of God the Holy Ghost, Dei Spiritus Sancti, ut ea non so that it not only lays hold of modo gratiam apprehendat, ve- grace, but also co-operates, in the rum etiam in operibus sequenti- works which follow, with the Holy bus Spiritui Sancto cooperetur. Spirit. Relinquuntur igitur ante con- There are, therefore, left before versionem hominis duce tantum the conversion of man two efficient efficientes causæ (ad conversio- causes only (efficacious to convernem efficaces), nimirum Spiritus sion), that is to say, the Holy Spirit Sanctus, et verbum Dei, quod est and the Word of God, which is instrumentum Spiritus Sancti, the instrument of the Holy Spirit quo conversionem hominis efficit. whereby he effects the conversion Hoc verbum homo certe audire of man.' This Word man is, withdebet, sed tamen ut illud ipsum out question, bound to hear; but,

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Against Melanchthon, who in his later years taught that there are three causes of conversion closely combined, namely, the Holy Spirit (the creative cause), the Word of God (the instrumental cause), and the consenting will of man. See Vol. I. p. 262.

vera fide amplectatur, nequa- nevertheless, he is in nowise by his quam suis viribus propriis, sed own powers able to obtain the bensola gratia et operatione Dei efit of embracing it in true faith, Spiritus Sancti obtinere po- but only by the grace and working of God the Holy Ghost.

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Unanimi consensu (ad normam By unanimous consent (accordverbi divini, et sententiam Au- ing to the rule of the divine Word gustana Confessionis) in Eccle- and the judgment of the Augsburg siis nostris docetur, nos pecca- Confession), it is taught in our tores longe miserrimos sola in churches that we most wretched Christum fide coram Deo justi- sinners are justified before God and ficari et salvari, ita ut Christus saved alone by faith in Christ, so solus nostra sit justitia. Hic that Christ alone is our righteousautem Jesus Christus, Salvator ness. Now this Jesus Christ, our noster, et justitia nostra, verus Saviour and our righteousness, is Deus est et verus homo: etenim true God and true man; for the divina et humana natura in divine and human natures in him. ipso sunt personaliter unita. are personally united (Jer. xxiii. 6; Quæsitum igitur fuit: secun- 1 Cor. i. 30; 2 Cor. v. 21). It has dum quam naturam Christus therefore been asked: According nostra sit justitia? Et hac oc- to which nature is Christ our rightcasione duo errores, et quidem in- eousness? And by occasion of this, ter se pugnantes, Ecclesias quas- two errors, and these contrary the dam perturbarunt. one to the other, have disturbed certain churches.

For one part has held that Christ is our righteousness only

Una enim pars sensit, Christum tantummodo secundum divinam naturam esse nostram jus- according to the divine nature, if, titiam, si videlicet ille per fidem that is, he dwell by faith in us; in nobis habitet: etenim omnia for that all the sins of men, com

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