because of the Word of God that is proclaimed therein - whereby the voice of the Shepherd is heard, and little lambs and sheep are made who heed the voice of the Good Shepherd.
Many are vexed at how the Church can be among the heterodox. But the answer is clear: to the extent that also among those who teach falsely the voice of the Shepherd has not been entirely silenced, it remains divinely powerful to create faith in those who hear it.
Does that mean that heterodoxy is then not dangerous? By no means! The danger of heterdoxy is that that other voices are tolerated alongside the voice of the Good Shepherd and constantly threaten to drown Him out. When His voice can no longer be heard, what we have is not even heterodoxy but non-Christian cult.
There is no jurisdiction or communion upon earth where the danger is not present of other voices drowning the alone-saving voice of the Good Shepherd. I would never deny that the danger is a real and persistent one in the Churches of the Augsburg Confession. But I still maintain that in their Confession - where that Confession lives, informing actual preaching, teaching, and practice - there the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd sounds forth with a clarity not to be missed. There the Church comes into her own because His and His voice alone holds sway.
A vision? A dream? Yes. But more than either: a confidence in the Word of God to accomplish its end. "Those who believe on me through their words." "My sheep hear my voice." As our heavenly Father commanded at the Transfiguration: "This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: HEAR HIM!"