# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2001_S431 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) ADDITIONAL THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS—-OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 43] promise. But, if he believes in this sense, he cannot at the same time believe that God is unreliable in his Word of promise. In this sense it is true today also that—in Luther’s words—faith is the as- surance of salvation” [LV:E 56]. With reference to the concept of faith of Vatican IH, see Dog- matic Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 5: “‘The obedience of faith’ . . . must be given to God, who reveals an obedience by which man entrusts his whole self freely to God, offering ‘the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals,’ and freely as- senting to the truth revealed by Him.” “The Lutheran distinction between the certitude (certitudo) of faith, which looks alone to Christ and earthly security (securitas), which is based on the human being, has not been dealt with clearly enough in the LV [The Condemnations of the Reformation Era— Do they Still Divide?]. . . . Faith never reflects on itself, but de- pends completely on God, whose grace is bestowed through Word and Sacrament, thus from outside (extra nos)” [VELKD 92, 2-9]. To [part] 4.7: The Good Works of the Justified (paragraphs 38-40) [LV:E 66ff., VELKD 90ff.]: “But the Council excludes the possibility of earning grace—that is, justification—[can. 2; DS 1552] and bases the earning or merit of eternal life on the gift of grace itself, through membership in Christ [can. 32: DS 1582]. Good works are ‘merits’ as a gift. Al- though the Reformers attack ‘Godless trust’ in one’s own works, the Council explicitly excludes any notion of a claim or any false security [cap. 16: DS 1548f]. It is evident . . . that the Council wishes to establish a link with Augustine, who introduced the con- cept of. merit, in order to express the responsibility of human be- ings, in spite of the ‘bestowed’ character of good works” [LV:E 66]. If we understand the language of “cause” in Canon 24 in more personal terms, as it is done in Chapter 16 of the Decree on Justifi- cation, where the idea of communion with Christ is emphasized, then we can describe the Catholic doctrine on merit as it is done in the first sentence of the second paragraph of 4.7: growth in grace, perseverance in righteousness received by God and a deeper com- munion with Christ. “Many antitheses could be overcome, if the misleading word, ‘merit,’ were simply to be viewed and thought about in connection with the true sense of the biblical term, ‘wage,’ or reward” [LV:E 67]. “The Lutheran confessions stress that the justified person is re- sponsible not to lose the grace received but to live in it. . . Thus, the confessions can speak of a preservation of grace and a growth in it. [f ‘righteousness’ in Canon 24 is understood in the sense that it effects human beings, then it does not apply to us. But, if ‘right- eousness’ in Canon 24 refers to the Christian’s acceptance by God, it applies to us; because this righteousness is always perfect; com- pared with it the works of Christians are only ‘fruits’ and ‘signs’” [VELKD 94, 2-14]. “Concerning Canon 26, we refer to the Apology where eternal life is described as reward: ‘. . . We grant that eternal life is a re- ward, because it is something that is owed—not because of our merits but because of the promise’” [VELKD 94, 20-24]. Department for Ecumenical Affairs Home Page Footnotes: 1. The Smaicald Articles, II,1; Book of Concord, 292. 2. “Rector et judex super omnia genera doctrinarum,” Weimar Edition of Luther’s Works (WA), 39, I, 205. 3. It should be noted that some Lutheran churches include only the Augsburg Confession and Luther’s Small Catechism among their binding confessions. These texts contain no condemnations about justification in relation to the Roman Catholic Church. 4. Report of the Joint Lutheran-Roman Catholic Study Com- mission, published in Growth in Agreement (New York: Geneva, 1984), pages 168-189. 5. Published by the Lutheran World Federation (Geneva, 1994). 6. Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue VII (Minneapolis, 1985). 7. Minneapolis, 1990. 8. “Gemeinsame Stellungnahme der Arnoldshainer Konferenz, der Vereinigten Kirche und des Deutschen Nationalkomitees des Lutherischen Weltbundes zum Dokument ‘Lehrverurteilungen— kirchentrennend?’,” Okumenische Rundschau 44 (1995): 99-102; including the position papers which underlie this resolution, cf. Lehrverurteilungen im Gesprach, Die ersten offiziellen Stellung- nahmen aus den evangelischen Kirchen in Deutschland (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1993). 9. The word, “church,” is used in this Declaration to reflect the self-understandings of the participating churches, without intending to resolve all the ecclesiological issues related to this term. 10. Cf. “Malta Report,” paragraphs 26-30; “Justification by Faith,” paragraphs 122-147. At the request of the U.S. dialogue on justification, the non—Pauline New Testament texts were addressed in Righteousness in the New Testament, by John Reumann, with responses by Joseph A. Fitzmyer and Jerome D. Quinn (Philadel- phia; New York: 1982), pages 124-180. The results of this study were summarized in the dialogue report “Justification by Faith” in paragraphs 139-143. 11. “All Under One Christ,” paragraph 14, in Growth in Agree- ment, pages 241-247. 12. Cf. Luther’s Works, American Edition 32:227; Weimar Edi- tion 8:106. 13. Cf. Denzinger-Schénmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum 1528. 14. Cf. Denzinger-Schénmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum 1530. 15. Cf. Apology IT:38-45; Book of Concord, | 05f. 16. Cf. Denzinger-Sch6nmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum 1515. 17. Cf. Denzinger-Schénmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum 1515. 18. Cf. Denzinger-Schénmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum 1545. 19. Cf. Dei Verbum 5. 20. Cf. Dei Verbum 4. 21. Condemnations of the Reformation Era, 27. 2001 Convention Workbook