n account of its sins,
wishes to abstain from them, and renounces its former sinful life.
"This," says Agricola, "is repentance (_poenitentia, Buessen_) and the
first stage of the new birth, the true breathing and afflation of the
Holy Spirit. After this he acquires a hearty confidence in God,
believing that He will condone his folly and not blame him for it, since
he did not know any better, although he is much ashamed of it and wishes
that it had never happened; he also resolves, since he has fared so
well, never to sin any more or to do anything that might make him
unworthy of the benefit received as if he were ungrateful and forgetful;
he furthermore learns to work out, confirm, and preserve his salvation
in fear and trembling...: this is forgiveness of sins." (Frank 2, 247.)
These confused ideas plainly show that Agricola had a false conception,
not only of the Law and Gospel, but also of original sin, repentance,
faith, regeneration, and justification. Essentially, his was the Roman
doctrine, which makes an antecedent of what in reality is an effect and
a consequence of conversion and justification. Viewed from this angle,
it occasions little surprise that Agricola consented to help formulate
and introduce the Augsburg Interim in which the essentials of
Lutheranism were denied.

194. Poach, Otto, Musculus, Neander.

The antinomistic doctrines rejected, in particular, by Article VI of the
_Formula of Concord_, were represented chiefly by Andrew Poach, Anton
Otto, Andrew Musculus, and Michael Neander. Poach, born 1516, studied
under Luther and was an opponent of the Philippists, he became pastor in
Halle in 1541; in Nordhausen, 1547; in Erfurt, 1550; Uttenbach, near
Jena, 1572, where he died 1585. At Erfurt, Poach was deposed in 1572 on
account of dissensions due to the antinomistic controversies. He signed
the _Book of Concord_.--Otto [Otho; also called Herzberger, because he
was born in Herzberg, 1505] studied under Luther; served as pastor in
Graefenthal, and from 1543 in Nordhausen where he was deposed in 1568
for adherence to Flacius. However, when Otto, while antagonizing
Majorism and synergism, in sermons on the Letter to the Galatians of
1565 rejected the Third Use of the Law, he was opposed also by Flacius,
who reminded him of the fact that here on earth the new man resembles a
child, aye, an embryo, rather than a full-fledged man.

In his zealous opposition to the Majorists, Andrew Musculus (Meusel,
bor