The Lutheran Manual On Scriptural Principles PDF Download

Excerpt from Lutheran Manual on Scriptural Principles: Or, the Augsburg Confession Illustrated and Sustained, Chiefly by Scripture Proofs and Extracts From Standard Lutheran Theologians of Europe and America; Together With the Formula of Government and Discipline, Adopted by the General Synod of the Evangelic Christian Brethren, In submitting the following Manual to your friendly consideration, and that of the Christian public at large, it seems proper to say a few words in elucidation of the principles on which it is constructed. Our holy religion addresses us as reasonable beings capable of investigating the evidences of truth, and commands us to be ever ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us. But whither shall we go to find those evidences, to learn what Christianity and the Christian church are? In this emergency different voices reach us. "Go to the church" say the Romanist and Puseyite. But where is the church? To which of the several associations professing to be the church, and often the only true church, shall we go? They are all interested parties, and whether we repair to Jerusalem or Mount Gerezim, to Rome, to Wittenberg, or to Geneva; the response is ever the same, "The temple of the Lord are we." Yet how different their religions; and all cannot be true! "Go to the lively oracles of God," say others, and among them the Son of God himself. "Search the Scriptures," says he, "for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." The gospel was before the church. The revealed truths of Christianity were the means, by the preaching of which sinners were converted, and the church was formed. They are the divine instructions according to which the church in all ages must be organized and administered. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.