# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1959_S210
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

210 RESOLUTIONS — COMMITTEE 4

harmony which makes possible the normal function and develop-
ment of Christian family life. (1 Cor. 12:13)

The differences in both doctrinal beliefs and outward prac-
tices within the various Protestant denominations are sometimes
such that essential agreement is difficult or impossible to achieve.
Theological differences, differences in the actual form of worship,
and differences in the ethical expression of the Christian faith may
involve the central teachings of the Christian faith and hence
become unquestionably vital. A faithful Lutheran married to
a partner who does not believe in Infant Baptism, who attends
public worship on Saturday, or who believes that the Old Testa-
ment Law is still binding on the Christian people of the New Cove-
nant, may have to live in a religiously divided home where subjects
vital to a Christian are seldom discussed and where Bible reading,
prayer, and family worship are greatly hindered or entirely neg-
lected. Christians whose faith is clearly founded in Holy Scripture
cannot compromise their fundamental beliefs. (1 Cor. 1:10; John
18:37)

4, Marriage Between Lutherans and Non-Christian Partners

Although marriage is God’s design for all human beings,
it “becomes Christian when (in a given case) the marriage re-
lationship is entered into in the light of Holy Scripture, when
the purpose of marriage specified in Scripture and a Christian pat-

tern of life are accepted by husband and wife, and when the hus-
band and wife recognize each other as persons for whom Christ
died and desire to live together as heirs of the grace of life. Their
relationship is more than consent and sexual union. To them
marriage is a sacred trust, a fellowship honorable and God-
pleasing by which each is to enrich the other physically, mentally,
socially, and spiritually.”® In addition, “Christians are united in
marriage not only by their mutual vows but also by their common
faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin and as the Lord of
their lives. Their lifelong companionship and mutual assistance
are enriched by a spiritual factor which is specifically Christian: the
self-giving love which the New Testament teaches. . . . It is this
love that breaks down human selfishness and becomes the deterrent
for many factors in modern life which militate against Christian
marriage ethics.”1°

From the foregoing it is obvious that in a marriage between
a Lutheran and a non-Christian there can be no spiritual unity
between the married partners, and the Christian training of the

9 Engagement and Marriage (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1959) p. 165.-
10 Thid., p. 166.