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 ed-
ited 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.
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This text was translated by Rev. Theodore Mayes and is copyrighted
material, (c)1996, but is free for non-commercial use or distribu-
tion, 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
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