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.]


       Part Three

       Chapter One

       On the grace of God towards fallen humans, the first principle of
       our salvation.

       1. Among the principals and causes of human salvation, which are
       the subjects revealed theology has in its care, the grace of God
       holds the first place, by which God does not wish to let the human
       race go into a common destruction, which they brought on themselves
       in Adam and through original sin, and he intends more from there to
       demolish that sin and to lead humans to eternal blessedness.

       2. Therefore by the words 'divine grace' is understood in this
       place the kind good-will of God towards sinners, by which God,
       having received our mode of life, is moved, so that he wishes to
       apply to their salvation the sacrificing, which is his. It is
       otherwise called  the pity, love, kindness of God, etc.

       3. The object of this grace are humans one and  all, even if
       corrupted by sin.

       4. Likewise this grace of God is not a certain indifferent
       complacency of God, limited to the salvation of all, if it happens
       to deal with that salvation, but with him it causes an inclination
       of God for applying on his part that which is done for the
       procuring of the salvation of all, so that it, as much as it is
       from God's part, it is restored to all possible people as a
       covering.

       5. And when in God besides goodness also punishing justice has been
       known, it is certain, that goodness thus inclines toward human
       salvation, but it does not make justice depart; and therefore the
       same goodness of God moves God to procure a medium which might
       satisfy the divine justice for sinners.

       6. Therefore it is ascribed to divine grace that God wanted to give
       the mediator Christ to humans, who are not able by themselves to
       make satisfaction for sins, and he gave Christ, who fulfilled the
       law for all  sinners and vicariously he discharged the penalties of
       the violations.

       7. However it is also divine grace, looking at our salvation, to
       move God, so that , that which is his, he wishes to apply and he
       applies to that salvation, so that by an alien satisfaction of the
       mediator we are able to have the benefit of all things.

       8. The end, for the cause of obtaining which God is moved to the
       procuring of human salvation, is itself the glory of divine
       goodness.

       9. It is possible to describe the grace of God in this locus, that
       it is an act of divine goodness, by which God, having seen human
       misery contracted through sin, is moved, so as to free all those
       and to extend salvation and therefore he seriously wished to
       procure the mediator, and those things of his which are necessary
       for his use, to the good of all, by which things they are brought
       to light from that ruin and they are brought along to eternal
       salvation, for the cause of celebrating the glory of divine
       goodness.




       _________________________________.__________________________________ 
                                       
       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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       file: /pub/resources/text/wittenberg/baier: cpt-3-01.txt
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