LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1965, Page 80

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80 RESOLUTIONS — COMMITTEE 1

Synod as ends in themselves and moved us to give self~
preservation priority over God’s mission; and be it
finally

Resolved, That we affirm that the church is God’s
mission. The church’s ministries of worship, service,
fellowship, and nurture all have a missionary dimen-
sion. We rejoice that for Christ’s sake God forgives us
our sins of self-centered disobedience, and we place

ourselves, our congregations, and our Synod into His ©

loving hand as willing instruments of His great mission
to the world.
Action: This resolution was adopted.

The Church Is Christ’s Mission
to the Whole World

RESOLUTION 1-01B

Wrereas, God so loved the world that He gave His
only-begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life; and

Wuenreas, Christ has sent His disciples out into all
the world, saying: “Go ye and make disciples of all
nations”; therefore be it

Resolved, That we affirm that the church is Christ’s
mission to the whole world. Christians will approach
men of other faiths in humility and love. They joyfully
acknowledge that God is active in the lives of all men
through His continued creative and providential con-
cern, through the Law written in their hearts, and
through God’s revelation of Himself in creation and
nature. Christians affirm a common humanity with all
men. They confess a common sinfulness. They rejoice
over a universal redemption won for all in Jesus Christ;
and be it further

Resolved, That we reconsecrate ourselves with
everything we are and have to the task of witnessing
Christ in deed and word to all the world, thankfully
making full use also of the communication tools which
God is offering to the church through science and tech-
nology for this age of the population explosion; and be
it further

Resolved, That in the face of the great unfinished
task we rejoice over all faithful Christian efforts to wit-
ness Christ to all the world; and be it finally

Resolved, That we recognize that our sister mission
churches in other lands have been placed by God into
other circumstances and are subservient not to us but
to the Lord, who makes His church His mission to the
whole world.

Action: This resolution was adopted.

The Church Is Christ’s Mission to the Church

RESOLUTION 1-01 C
Wuereas, Every Christian by virtue of the saving
faith which the Holy Spirit creates in his heart is bound
to His Lord and enters into a real and living unity with
every other member of Christ’s holy body, the church;
and

Wuereas, The same Word of Christ that bids Chris-
tians to go and teach all nations also instructs them to
teach their fellow Christians all things whatsoever
Christ has commanded them; therefore be it

Resolved, That we affirm that the church is Christ’s
mission to the church. In obedience to the church’s
Head and in sanctified loyalty to his congregation and
his church body, a Christian will be ready with good
conscience both to witness and to listen to all Christians.
Like the Bereans, the Christian will search the Scrip-
tures to test the truth of what he hears and what he
says; and be it further

Resolved, That we affirm as Lutheran Christians that
the Evangelical Lutheran Church is chiefly a confes-
sional movement within the total body of Christ rather
than a denomination emphasizing institutional barriers
of separation. The Lutheran Christian uses the Lu-
theran Confessions for the primary purpose for which
they were framed: to confess Christ and His Gospel
boldly and lovingly to all Christians. While the Con-
fessions seek to repel all attacks against the Gospel,
they are not intended to be a kind of Berlin wall to
stop communication with other Christians; and be it

further

Resolved, That we affirm that by virtue of our unity
with other Christians in the body of Christ, we should
work together when it will edify Christ’s body and
advance His mission, refusing cooperation, however, on
such occasions when it would deny God’s Word; and be
it finally

Resolved, That we affirm that because the church is
Christ’s mission to the church, Christians should speak
the Word of God to one another as they nurture, edify,
and educate one another for Christian faith and life.
Therefore as a Synod we value our strong tradition of
Christian education and seek to extend it throughout
life, for laity and clergy. Far from employing agencies
of Christian education primarily in our own institu-
tional self-interest, we will endeavor to make them ever
more effective tools in equipping God’s people for His
mission.

Action: This resolution was adopted.

The Church Is Christ’s Mission
to the Whole Society
RESOLUTION 1-01 D

Wuereas, Jesus Christ is Lord of all the world and
in every area of life; and

Wuereas, The Christian recognizes no area of life
that may be termed “secular” in the sense that it is re-
moved from the lordship of Jesus Christ, though it may
not be under the control of the institutional church; and

Wuereas, The Christian does God’s work in the world
through various vocations in the home, church, and
state as distinguished by Dr. Martin Luther; therefor
be it