In this paragraph,
Prof. Loy is introducing his discussion of Article IV of the
Augsburg Confession:
This fourth article
of our Confession sets forth in words of admirable simplicity
the doctrine of the Gospel which lay at the foundation of the
whole glorious work of the Reformation, and which Luther
rightly pronounced the article of a standing or a falling
Church, meaning that this truth of the sinner’s
justification by faith is the final test of the Christian
Church, the departure from which would indicate its fall
from grace and from Christ and thus manifest its apostasy
from the truth which our Lord revealed and to which He came
as the King of Zion to bear witness. Our teachers have
accordingly always insisted upon this as the criterion of
evangelical fidelity, and refused fellowship with any Church
or party that denied, or even ignored, the fundamental
import of this precious truth. How could they do
otherwise, seeing that this doctrine involves the whole
counsel of God for the salvation of all men, whom sin has
brought under condemnation and for whom no salvation is
possible save through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.
The entire cause of Christianity depends on the maintenance of
this article in its evangelical purity.
From From Loy,
Matthias. The Augsburg confession: An Introduction To Its
Study And An Exposition Of Its Contents Columbus, Ohio:
Lutheran Book Concern, 1908.
