# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2001_S416 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 416 ADDITIONAL THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS—OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT of justification is the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. Justification thus means that Christ himself is our righteousness, in which we share through the Holy Spirit in accord with the will of the Father. . . .” If only this sentiment had set the tone for a docu- ment that clearly spelled out this wonderful truth! 15. Despite its teaching on justification, the Roman Catholic Church has many noteworthy blessings that were also recognized by Martin Luther and C.F.W. Walther, including: Baptism; the public reading of the Scriptures in the vernacular; Absolution in private and public confession; the Sacrament of the Altar, now fre- quently administered under both kinds; the call or ordination to the pastoral office; prayer. the Psalms, the Creed, the Ten Command- ments, and many fine hymns. Beginning the discussion of justifi- cation with Scripture, as JDDJ did. is a good starting point. Further progress in ongoing dialogs can be made only through discussions normed strictly by Holy Scripture. Study Questions (Paragraph numbers refer to the summary). Paragraphs 2-3 Evaluate JDDJ’s basic approach in light of John 8:31-32 and 1 Jn. 2:20-21. What does | Cor. 1:10 say about differences of language and theological elaboration? See Phil. 2:14. Was Aaron trying to set up a different worship that was “open” to the worship of the true God when he built an altar to the Lord in front of the golden calf (Ex. 32:1-6)? What lesson should we learn here? Paragraph 4 What is the essential nature of justification? See Rom, 3:19-28, 4:4-8, 25; 5:6-19; 8:33; Deut. 25:1; 1 Kings 8:32; Ps. 143:2; Proverbs 17:15; Isa. 5:23. See also Zech. 3:1-5, which does not use the word “justify” but captures the idea. Justification, in which God does not count sin against a person, is essentially the same as forgiveness (Ps. 32:1-2; Rom. 4:1-13) and reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:14—21). How does this help you to un- derstand justification better? Paragraph 5 What is saving grace? See Rom. 3:24; 4:4; 11:6; 2 Cor. 8:9; 2 Tim. 1:9: Heb. 2:9; Titus 2:11. Compare John 3:16. Paragraph 6 What is faith’s role in justification? See Gen. 15:6, Hab. 2:4; Jn. 1:12; Rom. 3:28; 4:16; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:8-10. Paragraph 7 Describe original sin according to Ps. 51:5; John 3:6; Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 8:7: Gen. 8:21. What does Scripture say about the sin that remains in Chris- tians? See Rom. 7:14—25; Gal. 5:16-21; Col. 3:5—I1. Paragraphs 8-10 How do these passages express the central message of Scrip- ture? Gen. 3:15; Is. 53; John 1:29; 3:16; Acts 4:12; Rom. 1:16-17; 1 Cor. 2:1-5; 1 Tim. 1:15; 1 Pet. 1:18-21. In November 1998, Pope John Paul IJ issued a papal encyclical announcing a Jubilee Indulgence for the year 2000 that is very sim- ilar to indulgences at Luther’s time. How can this development help us evaluate JDDJ? Paragraph 12 How can a Christian be certain of his or her own salvation? See 2 Cor. 1:19-20; 1 Pet. 1:3-5, 23; | John 5:4—13; Rom. 8:28-39. 2001 Convention Workbook A Response to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification Prepared by the Department of Systematic Theology Concordia Theological Seminary. Fort Wayne, Indiana The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Historical Introduction The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification was pre- pared between 1995 and 1997 by Roman Catholic and Lutheran theologians under the auspices of the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). In 1995, the first version was sent to the participating churches. The Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France, prepared a Lutheran response, while the Pon- tifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity under Cardinal Cas- sidy acted for the Vatican. A revised text was ready by the sum- mer of 1996 and further changes were suggested by the LWF Council in September. A final version was authorized for distribu- tion by the LWF Executive Committee in February 1997.! This text was adopted with near unanimity (958-25) by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at its August 1997 assembly in Philadelphia.? The Joint Declaration is not a new, independent effort, but con- cludes and summarizes various national and international Lutheran/Roman Catholic dialogues. The 1980 papal visit to Ger- many on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession provided the original stimulus. This led to the forma- tion of the Ecumenical Working Group of Evangelical and Catholic Theologians in Germany, who by 1986, produced The Condemna- tions of the Reformation Era—Do They Still Divide ?* This evoked a negative response by the Evangelical [Protestant] theological fac- ulty of Georgia Augusta University, Gottingen, Germany: Out- moded Condemnations? Antitheses between the Council of Trent and the Reformation on Justification, the Sacrament, and the Min- istry—Then and Now. A formal lifting of mutual condemnations on justification was planned for 1997 to coincide with the 450th anniversary of the Council of Trent’s Decree on Justification and the fiftieth anniversary of the Lutheran World Federation in 1997. The issue proved too intractable for this timetable.* Unlike the ELCA-Reformed Agreement. the Joint Declaration does not call for full communion, although the doctrine of justifi- cation is no longer considered an obstacle to bringing it about: “the mutual ‘anathemas’ (condemnations) drawn up in the sixteenth century on the teaching of justification no longer apply to these churches.” The Declaration has a core resemblance to Lutheran ac- cords with the Reformed. As in the Agreement and Marburg Re- visited, past differences are seen as “complementary.” Like A Com- mon Calling, which speaks of the “diverse witnesses to the one Gospel that we confess in common,” the Joint Declaration holds that with this current agreement on the “basic truths of the doctrine of justification,” the characteristic “concerns” of each communion with their “remaining differences” are now mutually acceptable. Without disowning its past, each church holds that “the under- standing of justification set forth in this Declaration shows that a consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification exists be- tween Lutherans and Catholics.” Positions of each are tolerable within the doctrinal dimensions of the other. “Therefore the Lutheran and the Catholic explications of justification are in their differences open to one another and do not destroy the consensus regarding basic truths” (Declaration 5.40). Many prominent Lutheran theologians of course approve of the Joint Declaration. Harding Meyer invokes the LWF’s ecumenical slogan of “Recon- ciled Diversity,” and Carl Braaten calls it “a step in the right direc- tion.’”® Others are more reserved, as will be shown.