# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1950_S330
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

444 INTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS

“Common Confession” puts it: “whom He makes and kee,
members of His kingdom and heirs of eternal life’). Our p;
Statement confesses: “But, on the contrary, Scripture means this,
that God, before the foundation of the world, from pure
because of the redemption of Christ, has chosen for His own
a definite number of persons out of the corrupt mass and has de.
termined to bring them, through Word and Sacrament, to faith
and salvation.” (Par. 39.)

The “Common Confession” does not confess the Scriptura]
doctrine of election.

The Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints

Our Catechism confesses: “What is the holy Christian Church?
The holy Christian Church is the communion of saints, that is,
the whole number of believers in Christ; for all believers, and only
believers, are members of this Church.” (Qu. 175.) “Why do you
say, ‘I believe’ in the Church? I say, I believe in the Church,
because the Church :is invisible, since no man can look into another’s
heart and see whether he believes.” (Qu. 176.) In other words,
the Church in the true sense of the term consists of all believers,
and only believers, who are known only to God.

Over against this, the A. L. C. to this day contends that the
Church has also a “visible side — the use of the means of grace,”
and that the “use of the means of grace” must be included when
defining its essence, or when answering the question what the
holy Christian Church is.

The “Common Confession” makes no mention of the invisi-
bility of the Church. Both Luke17:20-21 and 2 Tim. 2:19 are
conspicuous by their absence. Its language enables the A. L. C. to
retain. its old-false teaching, that the one holy Christian Church
is both invisible and visible. .

The “Common Confession” does not confess the Scriptural
doctrine of the invisibility of the holy Christian Church, the com-
munion of saints. ‘

Church Fellowship

The “Common Confession” reads: “We dare not condone error
or have altar and pulpit fellowship and unscriptural co-operation
with erring individuals, church bodies, or church groups that
refuse to be corrected by God’s Word.” (Par. IX.)

Note, first of all, that the “Common Confession” does not include
“prayer fellowship” in the forbidden church fellowship. This is
in conformity with Paragraph 8 of “A Statement,” of which the
chairman of our Committee on Doctrinal Unity is a signer. “We
affirm our. conviction that any two or more Christians may pray
together to the Triune God in the name of Jesus Christ if the

JNTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS 445

for which they meet and pray is right according to the
Word. of God.” Lian .

Note, in the second place, that “altar and pulpit fellowship”
dare not be practiced only with such erring individuals, church
bodies, oF church groups “that refuse to be corrected.” Which
errorist does not say that he sincerely believes that he is teaching
according to God’s Word? And which errorist is so base as to
declare that he is not willing to be corrected?

Scripture, on the other hand, commands us to mark and avoid
those who persist in causing divisions and offenses contrary to
Apostolic doctrine, Rom.16:17. Our Brief Statement therefore

confesses: “We repudiate unionism, that is, church fellowship with :
the adherents of false doctrine, as disobedience to God’s command,

as causing divisions in the Church, Rom. 16:17.” (Par. 28.)
‘The “Common Confession” does not confess the Scriptural
doctrine of church fellowship.

The Last Things

The “Common Confession” reads: “We hold it to be an error
to teach anything as a sign of Christ’s second advent not promised
or foretold in the Holy Scriptures, such as the expectation of
a mass conversion of the Jews, a preliminary resurrection of
martyrs, and a visible millennial reign of Christ on the earth
before the Day of Judgment.” (Par. XII.) The “Common Con-
fession” rejects as “an error to teach anything” such as the things
there mentioned, for such things are “not promised or foretold
in the Holy Scriptures.” 7

No one will deny that millennialism is being taught and
tolerated within the A. L. C. to this day. But such millennialism,
as taught, for example, by Dr. Reu in his Lutheran Dogmatics,
1928 ed., pp. 305-310; -1941—42 ed., II, pp. 228—247; 1945 ed.,
pp. 373—383, is treated in the-A. L. C. as an open. question, that“is,
a question which need not disrupt church fellowship.. This: position
is also held by the chairman of our Committee on Doctrinal Unity,
who declared at the conventions of the California Districts that
“church fellowship is not made impossible by ‘the existence of
error. in the views.of an: individual or a church body, provided
these. errors are of a non-fundamental: nature and the right
attitude to Christ and the Word of God is maintained.” .

The “Common.Confession” does not confess that: millennialism
is an error because of which it is necessary to: sever church fellow-
ship, if persistently advocated; - ; : ws ;

The “Common Confession of Faith” does not confess. the full
truth of: God’s Word. It does. not. remove a single one of the doc-

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