John William Baier's _Compendium of Positive Theology_ Edited by C. F. W. Walther Published by: St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1877 [Translator's Preface. These are the major loci or topics of John William Baier's _Compendium of Positive Theology_ as edited by Dr. C. F. W. Walther. These should be seen as the broad outline of Baier-Walther's dogmatics, but please don't assume that this is all. Each locus usually includes copious explanatory notes and citations from patristics and other Lutheran dogmaticians. Chapter Four On regeneration and conversion. 1. As it happens, Christ hands no one over to salvation, except for those who believe in Christ, so it is to be seen by which action faith in Christ is conferred on humans; which Scriptures call regeneration or conversion. 2. The word 'regeneration' indeed, broadly understood, includes beyond conversion also justification and a renewing; by the stricter meaning now justification alone, otherwise renewing or sanctification; but it also designates precisely a gift of faith. The last significance of this loci is: to whom do the new creation, the bring to life and the spiritual resuscitation refer. 3. And thus when regeneration causes a certain spiritual change, not indeed substantial, but accidental, the ends of this regeneration are noted: from which and to which. 4. The end from which is the lack of spiritual forces directed toward faith and other spiritual acts, and thus on the part of the intellect an impotence towards knowing spiritual objects, on the part of the will an impotence of following spiritually good things, on the part of the sensitive appetite an unsuitability toward obeying the Spirit and restraining fleshly desires. 5. The end to which of regeneration are spiritual forces or a spiritual life; which indeed on the part of the intellect introduces a spiritual light or men rightly judging about spiritual objects or assenting to them, on the part of the will men following spiritually good things, especially believing firmly in Christ, on the part of the sensitive appetite a certain faculty, through which he begins to be brought back under obedience to the Spirit. 6. The principal efficient cause of regeneration is the triune God. 7. The internal impulsive cause is the mercy of God. 8. The external and meritorious impulsive cause it Christ the mediator. 9. The lesser principal efficient cause are words, baptism, and in his ways also the same ministers of the church. 10. The subject which is the human lacking spiritual life, however not stubbornly resisting the operation of the Holy Spirit, without a difference in age, and either he never had the spiritual life, or through mortal sins he lost, what he had. 11. The subject by which is the human spirit, as far at the intellect and the will; further in its own way also the sensitive appetite. 12. The form of regeneration consists in the same gift of faith; to which mode it pertains, by which the Holy Spirit stirs the mind of adult humans, with it he regenerates through the word, that successively through previous supernatural acts excited by him he applies by this the same habitual faith. 13. The nearer end, which is also an effect of regeneration, is justification and renewal; the ultimate end is the salvation of humans and the glory of God. 14. The affects of regeneration are I. necessity in the order towards salvation; II. lasting efficacy, as much as it is from the part of God; III. defectability on the part of men: IV. repeatability. 15. It is possible to define regeneration, that it is an action of God, by which God gives humans lacking spiritual forces, but not stubbornly resisting, out of pure grace, on account of Christ, through word and baptism, on the part of the intellect and will, by spiritual forces towards believing in Christ and so far beginning a spiritual life, or he produces it in the same, by the cause of the following justification, renewal and eternal salvation. 16. The word 'conversion' is accepted in two ways in Scripture: insofar as now God is said to convert man, now man is said to convert himself; although as far as the thing itself it is one and the same action. 17. And thus especially the two ends of conversion are to be noted; one from which, the other to which ; of which each may be divided into either formal, or objective. 18. The formal end from which are sins, both actual, either of commission, or omission; in so far as, whey they are admitted, morally they remain as settled, or not withdrawn, and they offend God and they cause an obligation toward the penalty of sinning; and habitual, original or impulsive, and acquired; not alone in so far as they are of the habit of sinning, truly also by the reason of joining guilt and fixed punishment. 19. The objective end from which generally speaking are the things, which are the objects of actual sins; especially truly those, by which sinners before others by mind and affect are addicted and by him, by God esteemed less, as if they were transferred. 20. The formal goal to which of conversions, is faith in Christ, by which, offended by sins, the human sinner is reconciled to God. 21. The objective goal to which is God. 22. And thus to it, so that actual sins through conversion are abolished, it is required first, so that they are retracted from sinners and so that in the intellect indeed they are known, not only by a speculative judgment, that in truth they are sins, truly also by a practical judgment, because one ought to perceive to concentrate on the abolition of sins and about the method and the means, by which they are abolished; on the part of the will a dissatisfaction with sins is required, and this an effective dissatisfaction, or a detesting joined with sorrow. 23. Then it is required, that in actual sins, also as far as an offense to God and an obligation of those sinning to the satisfying of God, the mind strives toward the abolishing; that indeed otherwise it does not happen, than through faith in Christ the mediator and his merits and satisfaction for our sins; as when faith apprehends it, at the same time it strives toward God, who, although he is offended by our sins, however by his love and grace we are embraced and now through the satisfaction of Christ might be fully reconciled. 24. Conversion extends to the abolishing of habitual sins through the same acts, through which it extends to the abolishing of actual sins, thus however, that not only morally, but both physically and really, if not inwardly, at least after the thing and by reason they ought to be expelled or to be abolished by the Lord. 25. Especially therefore on the part of the intellect a lack of light and of strength including and being believed to spiritual objects, and again a habitual inclination to blindly being judged about those things, this is done away with in conversion through the act of faith, divine grace being led into us; and indeed a simple ignorance of believing is destroyed through a simple apprehension of believing, however errors or false opinions in the doctrine of faith and morals are destroyed through the act of assenting to the true doctrine, depending on divine revelation; an accidental inclination of the intellect toward perverse judging about these things, which come from the Spirit of God, is repressed through the pious affection of the will of the believing, through the arousing by the power of the divine word, and if finally a habitual lack of light or strength is destroyed efficiently through the act of faith, formally through the habit of believing, efficiently produced by the mediating act of believing. 26. Similarly on the part of the will an inclination toward evil and a lack of strength toward the healthily embracing the spiritual good is destroyed through the act of being seriously and effectively displeased with sins, partly and especially through the act of faith, which, as it places a certain desire for grace and the forgiveness of sins in the sinner, the same thing truly brings in a security and certainty from the grace and forgiveness of sins obtained from God, also at the same time they are joined together with the love of Christ the mediator and of God appeased through them and with the hope of the following grace and salvation, thus they formally rise up opposing acts of the will and efficiently they tend to the habitual expelling of sin, while they are driven out formally through the spiritual habits born from this. 27. If however it is easily understood, in what way conversion, while it is occupied in doing away with the end from which, at the same time it tends to acquiring the formal end toward which, or habitual faith in Christ, truly through the same acts and motions of faith, which changing the soul of humans being moved by divine virtue and leading to the sense and sorrow of sins, at first faintly or feebly, then, as more often repeated, thus more strongly or firmly, until strength having increased habitual faith is produced. 28. Meanwhile, when the first beginnings of faith and conversion are given to a human, at once begins the wrestling of the flesh and the Spirit; and it is manifested, that that wrestling is not without the wrestling of our will. 29. The acts, which begin the task of conversion and constitute it, are said and are spiritual and are rightly distinguished from the physical. However, they are the physical things, which are for the material object, properly and in itself, have a sensible subject, or they lead to sensible things of cause or other habits, for a formal object they have the light of nature and goodness recognized by the light of nature. On the other hand, the spiritual acts are chiefly indeed, of those objects which exceed the order and light of nature, however they are able and accustomed to be known under divine revelation and known under good reason through revelation; the acts also pertain however to this, which acts, although they are occupied around the things subject to the light of nature, however under some spiritual plan they tend in it, or they tend to the thing exceeding understanding of the light of nature and they include and connote some acts of a more raised order. 30. Also in addition to those animal acts are reckoned those, which are called pedagogical; which ought to be exercised around the means of conversion not only on the part of they body and the external members, but also on the part of the intellect and the will. 31. Moreover when the same intransitive conversion is both penitence or repentance, it is clear that part of it rightly constitutes contrition and faith. 32. By the known nature and by the parts of conversion, now further it is observed that the efficient cause of conversion and its principal cause is the triune God and him alone. 33. The impulsive internal cause is the mercy of God; the external cause or meritorious cause is Christ the mediator. 34. The instrumental cause is the word, both law and gospel. Through the law the knowledge of sins and sorrow about them is produced in humans; through the gospel faith in Christ is produced. On which account, however, also the cross is said to lead us towards conversion or repentance, not directly but indirectly. 35. However man through his natural strength actively brings nothing or is able to bring nothing to beginning or completing his conversion inwardly; granted that as far as it is possible to train external acts of the intellect and will by mediate uses. 36. And also this is, because it is otherwise said that a human, of what sort it is through nature, does not have a free will in his conversion. 37. However that operation of God, which works conversion in a human through the word of the law and gospel, is customarily called grace, and is distinguished as prevenient, operating and cooperating grace. 38. However the human in the beginning of conversion is rightly said to be merely passive, although in the progress of conversion, now by the accepted things before a new strength, he is active. 39. Also it is to be observed, that grace, by which God works conversion, is not irresistible, but resistible, in so far as humans not only by the means of conversion and the external use of them, they are able truly to wickedly fight against the grace of conversion in its inward operation and often they are accustomed to do so, and also thus they hinder their conversion, whether the beginning or the end. 40. The subject which of conversion is the adult human, turned away from God through sin, everyone not stubbornly rejecting the operation of the Holy Spirit. 41. The subject by which of conversion is the human spirit on the part of the intellect and the will, and in his way as far as possible the sensitive appetite. 42. The nearer goal of conversion is justification; the final goal on the part of humans is eternal salvation, on the part of God his glory. 43. The following thing or the fruit of conversion is the new obedience and also the purpose of not sinning, but of living piously; because indeed, if it is habitual, it is not born from contrition, but from faith. 44. Meanwhile it is possible to be done and it is done sometimes that humans are reborn and converted not only once, but by many changes they destroy the state of rebirth and grace through sin and through conversion they are restored a second time in to the same state. 45. Truly also about repentance, although it is too late and it touches at last under the end of life, it is possible to be saved, although it is most dangerous to delay repentance so long. 46. It is possible to define the recognized transitive conversion, that it is an action of God, by which God in adult humans, and either not yet before being reborn, or after rebirth through sin turned from him (God), and by his intellect and will from pure grace, on account of Christ, through the word of the law recognition of sin with earnest sorrow about them, however by the word of the gospel faith in Christ with the purpose of changing the life is worked, the same cause bringing to the same person justification and life eternal. 47. Obtained intransitive conversion, or repentance, is described, that it is an immediate act of a human, by which he, preceded and further helped by divine grace, knows his sins from the law, by faith he apprehends, the promises about the free forgiveness of sins on account of Christ, offered in the gospel, and he arouses in himself the placed trust in the merits of Christ, with the purpose of a better life, by the cause of the forgiveness of sins and the following eternal salvation. -------------------------------------------------------------- This text was translated by Rev. Theodore Mayes and is copy- righted material, (c)1996, but is free for non-commercial use or distribution, and especially for use on Project Wittenberg. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at Concordia Theological Seminary. E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu Surface Mail: 66000 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (260) 452-3149 Fax: (260) 452-2126 --------------------------------------------------------------