# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1950_S1134 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) aes sewed Sten Lot AS. r 2 Me rs wn Sw ater eee? 570 INTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS Sacrament. Christ is not only present at the celebration of the Sacrament, but in this Sacrament He enters into the most intimate communion with the members of His Church, bringing to them His body and His blood by which He made atonement for their sins Cf. The Word: I Cor. 1~2; II Tim. 3:14-4:5; I Peter 1; II Peter 1:12-21, Baptism: Matt. 28: 18-20; John 3:1-13; Acts 2:37-39; Romans 6; Titus 3: 4-7. : Lord’s Supper: Matt. 26: 26-28; Mark 14: 22-25; Luke 22: 19-20; ICor, 10:16-17; 11: 23-29. VI. Justification We believe and teach: By His redemptive work Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world; hence, forgiveness of sin has been secured and provided for all men. (This is often spoken of as objective justif,- cation.) “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation,” II Cor. 5:19. Hence no sinner need be eternally lost on account of his sins. God offers this propitiation and reconciliation freely to all men through His means of grace, There is nothing in sinful man or in what he may do to merit God’s declaring him righteous. God justifies the sinner solely on the basis of Christ’s righteousness, which He imputes to the sinner through the Gospel and which the sinner accepts by faith. Such faith is wrought in man by the Holy Spirit. Through this faith we not only receive from God but also retain the blessed assurance of our righteousness in His sight for Christ’s sake. Cf. Romans 3-5; 8; Gal. 2:16-3:29; Col.1; I John 2:2. VII. Conversion We believe and teach: The sinner’s conversion takes place when God brings the con- trite sinner to faith in Christ as his Savior. This change of heart with respect to sin and this reliance upon Christ for salvation from sin is the work of God the Holy. Spirit, without any co-operation whatsoever from sinful mar. “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost,” I Cor. 12:3b. Cf, Acts 5:31; 26:18; Eph. 2:1-9; Jer. 31:18-19; Ezek. 11:19-20. VIII. Sanctification We believe and teach: The believer in Christ can no longer enjoy living in sin, but he is prompted and enabled by the love of God in Christ and by the indwelling Holy Spirit to live according to God’s command- ments and to be minded towards all things as God is minded. “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me, Gal. 2: 20. ; ’ ‘We therefore, out of gratitude to God, seek to glorify Him by abounding in good works, without which faith is dead. In glorifying God we seek to serve Him and our neighbor in love, as He directs us in both tables of His Law. In this present world the Christian can never attain perfect sinlessness because sin inheres in him until death. But we strive for artireneerremmesrmccretntnnteey apse USSR Antes sus SS res +“ les Ses Sn OPTS - .INTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS 571 the goal that is set before us and by daily contrition and faith make progress in our Christian life. We look forward to the life to come, when we shall be cleansed of every defilement of sin and shall share with Christ His perfect life. Cf. Rom. 12:2; ICor.6:9-11; I Cor.5:14-15 & 7:1; Eph.2:10; Phil. 9:13 & 3:12; Col.1:10 & 2:6; IThess.4:3; Titus 2:11-14; I Peter 1:15; I John 3: 6-9. IX. The Church We believe and teach: All believers in Christ constitute the one, holy, apostolic (in agreement with the Apostles’ doctrine), and catholic (universal) Church. Jesus Christ is its Head. Through the means of grace He calls all its members into fellowship with Himself, and also unites the members in fellowship with one another. To all members of His Church the Lord has given all the rights and prerogatives set forth in His Word. Every Christian has the right of direct access to God without a human mediator. To the Church has been given the commission to preach the Gospel and to administer the Sacraments. It is therefore the duty of Christians to unite in local congregations for this purpose. In such local congregations.the presence or activity of any unbelievers or hypocrites does not nullify the power of the Word of God. The efficacy of the means of grace does not depend on the faith of the administrant, but inheres in the Word of God itself. In this present world Christ does not promise His Church any earthly reign over the affairs of men. His Church will remain a kingdom of the cross until His return for judgment; but He will sustain it according to His promise. “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” Matt. 16:18b. . It is the duty of the Church to be faithful to its Lord and His Word in all its testimony, to be steadfast in its confession of His truth at all times, and to avoid and combat error. It is the duty of the Church to mold and keep its practice in conformity with the Lord’s directives in the Holy Scriptures. Therefore we dare not condone error or have altar and pulpit fellowship and an unscriptural co-operation with erring individuals, church bodies, or church groups that refuse to be corrected by God’s Word. We must also be alert and susceptible ta the Lord’s leading to establish and maintain fellowship with those whom He has made one with us in the faith, and to seek to win the erring and wayward for unity in the true faith. We are mindful of our Lord’s intercessory prayer that we, who are His brethren, may be one, even as He and the Father are one. Cf. Matt.28; John 8:31-32; 15; 17; 20:22-23; Romans 12: 3-8; 16; ICor.1:10; 3; 12; Eph.2; 4:1-16; 5:6-11; Col.1; I'Tim. 6; I Peter 2:9-10; I John 4:1; I John 9-10, - X. The Ministry We believe and teach: The ministry of the Word and Sacraments exists by divine ordinance. God continues to call men into this holy office and entrusts the spiritual welfare of His congregations to these pastors as His gifts to the Church. It is the will of God that congregations choose as their pastors only such men as have the qualifications outlined in the Holy Scriptures. Pastors are required by God to