# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2007_S151 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 151 Resolved, That we reassert the necessity of this doctrine of the Holy Trinity with the words of the Athanasian Creed—‘‘whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity”; and be it fur- ther Resolved, That any person, church body, or religion that denies the scriptural, creedal, and confessional teaching concerning the Holy Trinity does not have the same God as publicly confessed by the LCMS; and be it finally Resolved, That the LCMS in convention direct The Lutheran Witness to prepare a series of articles on this topic and include ex- amples of (1) persons, church bodies, and religions which deny this doctrine of the Holy Trinity and (2) how the Lutheran Confessions view contrary doctrines. Triune Sharon, WI 3-12 To Affirm Doctrine of Son of God WHEREAS, Holy Scripture reveals that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” [Matt. 3:17]); and WuerEAS, Jesus Christ is also true God, begotten from the Fa- ther from all eternity (“You are My Son, Today I have begotten You [Psalm 2:7] and also “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” [John. 1:1]); and WHEREAS, Jesus Christ is also true man, born of the Virgin Mary (“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” [1 Tim. 1:5]); and WHEREAS, Christ alone is the sole means of salvation for all people (“No one comes to the Father except through Me” [John 14:6] and also “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” [Acts 4:12]); and Wuereas, In our pluralistic society many people deny that Jesus Christ is both true God and true man and deny that He is the sole means of salvation for all people; therefore be it Resolved, That the LCMS in convention affirm the doctrine of the Son of God as revealed in Holy Scripture and confessed in the Ecumenical Creeds and Lutheran Confessions; and be it further Resolved, That we reassert the necessity of this doctrine of the Son of God (“Whoever denies Me before men, I will deny Him be- fore My Father” [Matt. 10:33]); and be it further Resolved, That any person, church body, or religion which de- nies the scriptural, creedal, and confessional teaching concerning the Son of God likewise denies our total dependence upon the tri- une God for our salvation and rejects the work of Christ; and be it finally Resolved, That the LCMS in convention direct The Lutheran Witness to prepare a series of articles on this topic and include ex- amples of (1) persons, church bodies, and religions that deny this doctrine of justification and (2) how the Lutheran Confessions view contrary doctrines. Triune Sharon, WI 3-13 To Affirm Doctrine of Justification WHEREAS, Holy Scripture teaches that “man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28); and WHEREAS, That “blood of Jesys Christ cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7); WuerEAS, In our pluralistic society many people deny that Jesus is our only means of salvation and assert that there are many ways to heaven; and WHEREAS, In many congregations there is an aversion to justifi- cation so that the Church’s message becomes more focused on what we do than on what Christ has done; therefore be it Resolved, That the LCMS in convention affirm the doctrine of justification as revealed in Holy Scripture and confessed in the Ec- umenical Creeds and Lutheran Confessions; and be it further Resolved, That we reassert the necessity of this doctrine of jus- tification (“By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight” [Rom. 3:20]); and be it further Resolved, That any person, church body, or religion which de- nies the scriptural, creedal, and confessional teaching concerning justification denies our total dependence upon the triune God for our salvation and rejects the work of Christ; and be it finally Resolved, That LCMS in convention direct The Lutheran Wit- ness to prepare a series of articles on this topic and include exam- ples of (1) persons, church bodies, and religions that deny this doc- trine of justification and (2) how the Lutheran Confessions view contrary doctrines. Triune Sharon, WI 3-14 To Affirm 2004 Res. 3-06A re Witness in Public Square WHEREAS, The need for Christian witness in the public square remains great; and WHEREAS, the LCMS in convention affirmed in 2004 Res. 3- 06A the work of the Synod’s CTCR as regards witness, including prayer at civic events; and WHEREAS, This resolution offers opportunity for appropriate in- volvement in civic events without compromising Gospel witness; therefore be it Resolved, That the Atlantic District in convention affirm the contents and direction of Res. 3-06A; and be it further Resolved, That the Atlantic District in convention forward this resolution of affirmation to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as an overture for the 2007 Synod convention; and be it finally Resolved, That pastors and parishioners of Atlantic District con- gregations be encouraged to present Christian witness in the public square at every appropriate available opportunity. Atlantic District 3-15 To Rescind 2004 Res. 3-06A WHEREAS, The 2004 convention adopted Res. 3-06A, “To Com- mend CTCR Report on Guidelines for Participation in Civic Events”; and WHEREAS, The CTCR report itself admits, “The members of the Commission disagree about the issue of so-called ‘serial’ or ‘seri- atim’ prayers involving representatives of different religious (Christian and/or non-Christian) groups or churches” (p. 19); and WHEREAS, This ambiguity as to serial prayer could be used to excuse participation in interfaith prayer services or other joint ser- vices, in which the participants customarily “take turns”; and WHEREAS, The Missouri District, for example, at its 2006 con- vention (Res. 2-06) has expressed similar dissatisfaction with the CTCR report; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod rescind 2004 Res. 3-06A, “To Com- mend CTCR Report on Guidelines for Participation in Civic Events.” St. Matthew Bonne Terre, MO