Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1917-10-12

Four hundred years have elapsed
since DR.. M. Luther nailed the 50
thesis on the door of the Castle
Church at Wittenberg. By doing this
he caused the first spark which devel i
Oped into he great work of the Re-
formation. Luther, though his work
and writings gave to the world at
large not only civil and religious liber-
ty, but above ALL hesrestOred to man
kind the Bible Luther is considered
by all impartial writers and histOr-
ians as the greatest man since the
days of Christ and ST. Paul.
In our present day there has been
daifting away from the Bible, yea,
even those who call themselves Christ
ians have divers and false opinions
concerning this book OF God,
Let us hear the calm and unbiased
Judgment OF this great man concern
ing Holy Scriptures.
] Whence is the Bible? Luther says:
There is a great difference between
the word Of God that was sent from
heaven and anything that my private
devotion may invent. The Holy Scrip
lures did not grow on earth.
liz OkJl vi UIlS LIZA Ny
me, and his word was in my tongue,
2 Sam.23;2 Here David becomes too
strange and too high for my compre-
hension. To this text st. Peter refers
when he saws. e The prophecy came
not in old time by the will Of man:
but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost"
Hence in the Nicene Greed we sing
no cro rJi,o tho IJOlxT Ghnct Et Who
spake by the prophets. Thus we as
cribe to the Holy Ghost the entire
Holy Scriptures.
What is it's Authority and Quality?
Luther says: /" If any man preach any
other gospel unto you than that ye
have received" Gal, I:9 Scripture
must be the reigning queen; all must
obey heJ and be subject to her. They
must not be her master, Judges or jur-
ors, but only her witnesses, pupils and
confeSsors, no matter who they are,
whether Luther or Angus
tine or Paul or an angel from heaven.
Nor must any other doctrine be pro-
claimed or listened to in the church
than the pure word Of God that is
the Holy Scriptures. When studying
the Scriptures, you must reflect that
it is God Himself, who is speaking to
you. Now, since God is the speaker,ib
does not behooye you Wantonly to
twist his word to suit your fancy.
The Holy Scriptures must be clear
er, more easily understood and more
aelirble than all other books, for all
teachers wish to see their writings
confirmed and explained by the Scrip
lures. The Bible alone is the true
lord and master oy er all writings on
earth. If this is not so, of what use is
the Bible ? Then let US cast it aside
and be content with the books and
teachings of men.
What is it's purpose Luther says:
/" All the Scriptures from beginning
to end, have for their object, to teach
men to know Christ: The entire
Scripture is full Of Christ the Son of
God and Mary. It's sole object is to
teach us to know Him as a distinct
person and that through him we may
in eternity behold the Father and the
Holy Ghost, one God. You must get
out of the Scriptures the real treasure,
the kernel the strength, the virtue,
the Juice, and the aroma viz, the ex-
amples of faith and love to these you
mus6 pay close attention.
"
| How to get at It's meaning? Luther
says: g THE Holy Scriptures are only
of God, He alone spake them and
wrote them; He alone may explain
and interpret them. You must know
that the Scriptures without aIv gloss,
are the sun and the perfect light from
which all teachers receive their light
not conversely. Thus Psalm 1928 says
:. Thou wilt light my candle y What
the Scriptures say | shall leave unex-
p, ored by my reason, but shall be-
| lieve with singleness Of heart. If you
do this, the Scriptures will become
light and clear, while before they
were dark to you. To conclude, read
ing the Scriptures by the light OF
your reason is useless.
/ do not at all admit that you may
interpret, Scripture in more than one
way. You must first clearly grasp the
meaning Of Scripture and then reg
ulate your thots accordingly. II cut
ting and tearing the Bible TO pieces
were a great art, what a famous
Bible would produce. we must not
depart from its words as they read,
nor from the order in which they are
placed, otherwise, what is to become
of the Bible?
REV. H. SCHMITT.