Old landmarks

Front matter

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Contents

PAET I,

Primitive Moravian Doctrine, pp. 1-52.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

Chapter I. Central Doctrines Of The Church

The essential points of Moravian doctrine are contained in the Second and Third Articles of Luther's Smaller Catechism. The Second Article, entitled Redemption, is as follows : u l believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from all eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, secured and delivered me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with His innocent sufferings and death; in order that I might be His, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness-, even as He is risen from the dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true."

The Third Article treats of Sanctification, thus : " I believe that I cannot by my own reason and strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him ; but that the Holy Ghost has called me through the gospel, enlightened me by His gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith ; in like manner as He calls, gathers, and enlightens, and sanctifies

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the whole Christian Church on earth, and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the true faith ; in which Christian Church, He daily forgives abundantly all my sins, and the sins of all believers, and will raise up me and all the dead, at the last day, and will grant everlasting life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true"

On the Second Article of Luther's catechism, Count Louis Nicholas von Zinzendorf delivered, in the city of Berlin, 1738, a series of sermons, which made a deep impression. Bishop Daniel Ernest Jablonshy noticed these discourses in the following terms :

" I have read the sheets which were so kindly sent me, and rejoice that those who did not have the privilege of hearing these discourses, may now read them in print ; and that those who heard them, may enjoy them over again. Having no directions whither to send these sheets, I return them to their author, imploring God, with all my heart to bestow His aid and blessing upon this work.

Berlin, April 19, 1738. D. E. Jablonsky."

These discourses were revised and amplified in another series, delivered at Marienborn, near Frankfort-on-the-Main, in the year 1747.

The Third Article was explained by the Count in a series of sermons preached at London, in 1756.

The reader will at once perceive that these two articles express the faith, not only of the Lutheran and Moravian people, but of all Christians every where.

The best things in the beautiful Moravian Litany for Easter morning, and in their liturgies for baptisms and burials, are literal quotations of these two articles.

Whilst it is generally supposed that the Moravian Brethren profess adhesion to the Augsburg Confession, it is more exact to say that they have adopted the Second and Third Articles of Luther's Smaller Catechism as a part of their creed.

They did so from a heartfelt conviction of their truth and importance, and not merely with a view to conciliate the Lutheran Establishments on the European Continent.

These articles are the platform on which all who truly believe in the Lord Jesus, stand.

CENTRAL DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH.

The truths therein contained are the power of God, and the wisdom of God, with which the Apostles on Pentecost, Luther in his day, and all God's faithful servants ever since, always triumphed in Christ.

This doctrine of redemption by blood, over against the hopeless and forlorn delusion of salvation by works, has, however, always been, and still is, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to "natural men who receive not the things of the Spirit of God."

"With what zeal and devotion the early Moravians held to these doctrines, and how fully they exemplified their saving power, in their inward and outward life, shall now, by God's help, be set forth in these pages.

The following extracts from Minutes of a Conference at Marienborn, in 1740, XVII. Session, December 15, P.M., and XXV. Session, December 19, show what were the views of the Moravian fathers on the Atonement :

In the XVII. Session, the following sentiments were uttered :

§ 3. " The foolishness 1 of preaching the cross, consists in the assertion, that there was a necessity for the shedding of the blood of the Son of God, in order that man may be saved. This doctrine utterly confounds all reason and philosophy, — but it is the power of God, and the wisdom of God."

§ 4. " Through the shedding of Christ's blood, all imputation of sin to man has been removed. Even the earth itself, has been really and physically tinged and cleansed by it, and will therefore, in the end be created anew."

§ 5. "The phrase: the' Wrath of the Father/ is not biblical. The Scriptures do indeed speak of the i Wrath of God; ' but this expression indicates the wrath, not of the Father only, but of the whole Trinity. We therefore read : \ God reconciled the world unto Himself/ The sin of the world had not offended the Father only, but the whole Trinity, and particularly the Son, by whom man was created, and whose God and Maker He is."

§ 6. " Whenever the Father is not expressly mentioned, the term i God/ in the New Testament, refers to the Son, or the Logos."

1 Das Ridiculum.

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§ 7. " The Blood of Christ is the ransom-price, by which men's souls were redeemed from the power of Satan. Lytron (Xuzftov) signifies, a ransom-price by which the freedom of a prisoner is purchased, whether by money or exchange of prisoners, or by some other compensation. The Devil, on account of his great crime of bringing his Lord and God to a bloody death on the cross, deserved a new punishment in a new hell. Pie is, however, dispensed from this additional punishment: but he must relinquish his claims on man. The Devil knows this to be just; and is glad that nothing more is added to his present misery."

§ 8. " The Blood of Christ has, at the same time, made full satisfaction to Divine Justice. Even if men had not been in the power of the Devil, yet, in the exercise of justice, God would have been bound by, His own law, to punish them in the sight of angels and of devils."

§ 9. "In the days of His Humanity, the Saviour sought to make known the name, and the glory of the Father. Now, the Holy Ghost strives to glorify the Humanity of Christ among men.

In the XXY. Session, December 19, P.M., 1740, the following minutes occur :

§ 1. The Count, Bishop Polycarpus Miiller, and Chief- Elder Leonhardt Dober were appointed to investigate, thoroughly, the question whether or not baptism should be exclusively administered by immersion ; and as they shall decide, so shall the rite hereafter be administered. 2

§ 3. "The humiliation of Christ endears Him to us, and magnifies Him in our estimation, far more than any thing else can. He had no form nor comeliness ; He was despised and rejected of men ; but on that very account, He is to us the chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely. A look of love, beaming from his languid countenance, captivates and moves our deepest and best affections."

§ 4. " The Devil scarcely knew what to think of Christ (in the desert), as appears from the words : ' If Thou be the Son of God ? etc. He probably took Him to be a great prophet, who had come to destroy his kingdom, and whom he (the Devil), therefore, resolved to destroy."

§ 8. "All men were in Satan's power, and all their life-time subject to bondage. (' To whom ye yield yourselves, ser-

There is, unfortunately, no report extant, as far as I can discover.

CENTRAL DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH.

vants/ etc. Rom. v, 16.) The Devil therefore had a just claim on them, by virtue of the words : ' In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die/ The Devil founds his claim on this sentence ; and God admits it as far as it goes. But the Devil, through his great crime against the Son of God in bringing about His death, has forfeited all his former rights and demands on man. The handwriting, which was against man, was nailed on the cross and destroyed."

§ 8. " Through the work of redemption from sin and Satan, by the blood of Christ, man has been restored to a far happier and holier state than that which he enjoyed before the fall."

In the minutes of the Synod at Marienborn, July 25, 1745, we find the following expressions :

" The Article of an Atonement (Ly tron) appears (to the natural mind) to be so far-fetched and unreasonable, 3 that it almost seems wrong and presumptuous to attempt a logical demonstration of its truth."

" But it is God's determinate will, and the character of proud man needs it, that human reason must be confounded, and that men must become poor ignorant creatures in their own sight, before they can be saved. There is, however, in this doctrine a great mystery and a wonderful depth of Divine wisdom ; whereof there is a deep conviction in man, which is felt, even though it cannot be explained."

" Christ's sufferings and death are tremendous sacraments — *un sacrifice terrible ! ' It was not in vain, that our Saviour became a poor laborer, was born of an humble maid, and died an ignominious death. Behind these facts lie the deepest truths, and the most solemn mysteries."

3 Der Artikelvom Lytro ist procul jacet, "irraisonable." — Original Minutes of Synod.

Chapter II. Histobical

The circumstances which led the Renewed Church of the Brethren to adopt the aforesaid two articles of the Lutheran faith, were the following :

Some religious refugees from Moravia, descendants of the Old Moravian Church, had found an asylum on the estates of Count Zinzendorf, near Berthelsdorf, in Saxony • and commenced, on the 17th of June, 1722, to build a town, which they named Hermhut, which means " the charge of the Lord." See Numbers ix, 19.

These emigrants were warmly befriended by several zealous Lutheran preachers, such as Pastor Rothe of Berthelsdorf, Pastor Schafer of Gorlitz and Pastor Schwedler of Mederwiese, Silesia ; and, above all, by Count Zinzendorf — also a devout Lutheran. The Count and all the above-named preachers were staunch followers of Spener and Franke, the well-known leaders and exponents of vital piety in those days. The Count's grandmother, Countess of Gersdorf, with whom he spent his early years at the Castle of Hennersdorf, was a devoted friend and follower of Spener. The latter was sponsor at the Count's baptism ; and Zinzendorf became, as he himself says, a rigid pietist. Being thus influenced, the Moravian people who settled in Herrnhut were led to adopt that best and purest form of Lutheranism, known by the name of Pietism. I would here observe, that the followers of Spener and Franke were called Pietists, in derision ; just as English dissenters were called Puritans, and the followers of John Wesley, Methodists. These opprobrious epithets have since become the honored titles of the most zealous and efficient Churches the world has ever seen. (8) -

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At a later period some trivial differences arose between the University of Halle (the principal seat of Pietism) and Herrnhut. As regards essentials, they, however, fully agreed. Pietism had produced great awakenings throughout Germany ; and to it, under God, the Revived Moravian Church is indebted for its vitality — yea, for its very existence.

At a Moravian Synod in 1 745, the question was asked : et Can a man be a true Moravian brother, without first having been a pietist?" — which question Zinzendorf immediately answered by saying, that " he had passed through the pietistic ordeal with profit ! "

The prominent doctrine of Pietism was, that a deep and pungent agony, caused by an overwhelming conviction of sin, must precede and accompany the passage of the soul out of darkness into the marvelous light and liberty of God's children. Of this agony many Moravians made personal experience, during a remarkable revival at Herrnhut in the years 1727 and 1728.

How well the Lutheran pietists and the people at Herrnhut agreed, for a considerable time, on the nature of the new life which results from a conviction of sin and from faith in the Son of God, appears from the testimony of many Moravian brethren. 1

Christian David, whom the founders of Herrnhut, with Count Zinzendorf at their head, acknowledge to be the best exponent of Moravian doctrine, has left on record his testimony on the matter, and so have Zinzendorf and Peter Bohler. Bishop Spangenberg, the author of an Exposition of Christian Doctrine (Idea Fidei Fratrum), has done so likewise. In former years our Moravian archives teemed with excellent treatises on Moravian Theology ; but, alas ! they are but little known to the present age ; and were they known, it is likely that they would, by some, be repudiated.

See Part III, first three chapters.