twentieth century, in a really modern way."
(751.) Tschackert also designates the assertion that the authors of the
_Formula of Concord_ "abandoned Luther's idea of faith and established a
dead scholasticism" as an unjust charge. (478.) Indeed, it may be
questioned whether the doctrine of grace, the real heart of
Christianity, would have been saved to the Church without the _Formula_.

R. Seeberg speaks of the "ossification of Lutheran theology" caused by
the _Formula of Concord_, and Tschackert charges it with transforming
the Gospel into a "doctrine." (571.) But what else is the Gospel of
Christ than the divine doctrine or statement and proclamation of the
truth that we are saved, not by our own works, but by grace and faith
alone, for the sake of Christ and His merits? The _Formula of Concord_
truly says: "_The Gospel is properly a doctrine which teaches what man
should believe_, that he may obtain forgiveness of sins with God,
namely, that the Son of God, our Lord Christ, has taken upon Himself and
borne the curse of the Law, has expiated and paid for all our sins,
through whom alone we again enter into favor with God, obtain
forgiveness of sins by faith, are delivered from death and all the
punishments of sins, and eternally saved." (959, 20.) Says Schmauk: "The
_Formula of Concord_ was ... the very substance of the Gospel and of the
_Augsburg Confession_, kneaded through the experience of the first
generation of Protestantism, by incessant and agonizing conflict, and
coming forth from that experience as a true and tried teaching, a
standard recognized by many." (821.) The _Formula of Concord_ is truly
Scriptural, not only because all its doctrines are derived from the
Bible, but also because the burden of the Scriptures, the doctrine of
justification, is the burden also of all its expositions the living
breath, as it were, pervading all its articles.

Another modern objection to the _Formula_ is that it binds the future
generations to the _Book of Concord_. This charge is correct, for the
_Formula_ expressly states that its decisions are to be "a public,
definite testimony, not only for those now living, but also for our
posterity, what is and should remain (_sei und bleiben solle--esseque
perpetuo debeat_) the unanimous understanding and judgment of our
churches in reference to the articles in controversy." (857, 16.)
However, the criticism implied in the charge is unwarranted. For the
Lutheran Confessions, as