Collection › LCMS Convention Proceedings (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1959 · 44th Convention, San Francisco › Page 32
LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1959, Page 32

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

82 DOCTRINAL ESSAY

a faith which manifests the new birth, the stirrings of the new
life, the being in Christ, the living for Christ, the possession of
the Spirit, genuine love of the brethren, a faith because of which
the individual is prepared to suffer and to bring the supreme
sacrifice.

And yet, though all this is true, there are two reasons why
the church must constantly be alive to “doctrine.” One is that
whatever we know about God and Christ, about sin and salvation,
about creation and the destiny of the universe, is made known
to us by God in words, phrases, statements by His holy writers.
They tell us, by way of illustration, who the true God is, who
Christ is, what His relation is to the Father, who the Holy Spirit
is and what He does, what it means to be saved, and what the
nature of the Christian life is. These same Scriptures also supply
Christians with the motivation and the power to believe and do
what God says in the Scriptures. All this, assembled in however
comprehensive a form, we call “doctrine.” To say, “I believe in
Jesus,” but not to be aware that Jesus is the Son of God and also
true man, that He fulfilled the Law for sinners, that He died and
rose again in man’s stead, that He achieved for all mankind par-
don for sin, release from the fear of eternal death, that because
He arose from the dead, also His followers will arise bodily to
eternal life, that He imparts to the Christian His life and enables
him to serve Christ in righteousness, innocence, and holiness — to

have no knowledge of this may still be faith, but it is hardly a faith
which knows whom it believes and which is capable to sustain
one in the severe trials and temptations of life. But this is only
one consideration. The other is this.

The New Testament repeatedly stresses not only the Gospel
and its proclamation, but also the reality and importance of “doc-
trine” in a wider sense. We have such references particularly in
Paul’s epistles to Timothy and Titus and in the epistles of John.

Having warned against scandalous sins, Paul simply concludes:
“And if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.”
(1 Tim. 1:10)

2 Tim. 4:3.: “The time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine.”,

Titus 1:9: “Holding fast the faithful Word as he hath been taught,
that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince
the gainsayers.”

1 Tim. 4:6: “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things,
thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words
of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”

2 John 9:10: “Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doc-
trine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ,
he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house.” _