LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 192

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IV. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

We are called to proclaim the mighty acts of God who called us out of darkness into His light. It is not
always a welcome proclamation. In prayer to His Father, Jesus said of His disciples, “I have given them
your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world”
(John 17:14). Faithful proclamation of the Word will bear fruit, but as we know, it will also provoke the
hostility of the world and of Satan, who cannot tolerate the Word. Commenting on the fall into sin, Martin
Luther said, “Note, then, the strategy of the devil in attacking only faith. He does not assail the heathen,
unbelievers, and non-Christians. These stick to him like scales. But he sees that he cannot get at those
who have God’s Word, faith, and the Spirit. . . . [The devil] must attack the matter in a different way and
take the chief possession. If he has brought a man to doubt whether it really is the Word of God, then he
has won the game.”28
Speaking to His disciples of Satan’s hostility against them, Jesus told them, “What I tell you in the dark,
say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” He immediately added a
warning about the enemy: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear
him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:27-28). We fear the enemy, but we know the
enemy fears the Gospel Word. He will make martyrs out of witnesses wherever and whenever he can. But
the Father who cares for sparrows values His beloved witnesses much more. Jesus followed with a
promise and a warning concerning the eternally serious nature of our witness: “So everyone who
acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever
denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32-33).
Faithful witness to the Word, in times of peace or persecution, is not optional. This responsibility to be
faithful witnesses even in times of persecution may seem like a burden heavier than the persecution itself.
How can we know if we will have the strength to faithfully present our witness? Anticipating both our
fear and our need, Jesus gives us His promise: “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you
are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not
you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt. 10:19-20).
Proclamation may provoke persecution, yet the circumstances of persecution may at the same time
present opportunities for faithful proclamation. When Stephen was arrested and brought before the Jewish
ruling council, he used the opportunity to review for his opponents the acts of God in Israel’s history and
to speak of the coming of Jesus, “the Righteous One,” who had also suffered at their hands (Acts 7:1-53).
After Stephen was martyred, many believers left Jerusalem and “those who were scattered went about
preaching the Word” (Acts 8:4). Philip was among those scattered into the world with the Word. He
brought the Gospel to Samaria and told an Ethiopian eunuch the good news of Jesus. Stoned and left for
dead in Lystra, Paul rose up and continued to preach the Gospel. He encouraged the believers to continue
in the faith, “saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
Who should know better about those tribulations than Paul? In Philippi, Paul and Silas were beaten and
imprisoned. From their prison cell they proclaimed the Word, “praying and singing hymns to God, and
the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25). The proclamation of the Word takes place in many
ways. Prayers and hymns count!29 When an earthquake freed his prisoners, the frightened jailer asked
28

Martin Luther, Sermon on Genesis 3:1-6 (1523), ed. Edwald M. Plass, What Luther Says: An Anthology, vol. 3
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959), 1491.
Concerning hymn writing, Martin Luther commented that Paul “exhorted the Colossians to sing spiritual songs
and Psalms heartily unto the Lord, so that God’s Word and Christian doctrine might be instilled and implanted in
many ways.” Martin Luther, Preface to the Wittenberg Hymnal (1524), Luther’s Works, vol. 53, ed. Ulrich S.
Leupold (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1965), 316. Hymns may help sustain faith during times of persecution. A
sixteenth century Lutheran pastor wrote that a time will come when there is “no pure public preaching, and the
Gospel will be preserved only in the houses, by pious Christian fathers. These will find the hymns of Luther to be of
great service and benefit . . . God grant his blessing and grace, that they may use them well for admonition,
29

how he might be saved and was told to believe in the Lord Jesus. The seed of the Word was planted and
bore fruit. The jailer and his household believed and were baptized.
Many psalms express the suffering of God’s people in the face of persecution. Consider the words of
psalms, hymns, and other Christian songs. How is the Gospel message presented? How and when might
such psalms, songs, and hymns be a useful witness?
In Athens, Paul’s proclamation took a different form as he sought to gain a hearing with a crowd that was
not necessarily hostile but somewhat skeptical. Some were interested; others called him a “babbler.”
Provoked by the many idols he saw in the city, Paul spoke of the Gospel in the synagogue and the
marketplace. He introduced the Athenians to the true God, the God they worshiped as unknown. He
proclaimed repentance, judgment, and resurrection. Once again the Word bore fruit. Some of Paul’s
hearers mocked him, but others said, “We will hear you again about this,” and some of them believed
(Acts 17:16-34). Falsely accused and arrested in Jerusalem, Paul quieted the enraged mob and told them
how he met the risen Lord on the road to Damascus (Acts 21:27 to 22:21).
As a prisoner Paul would eventually carry the name of Jesus before governors, kings, and even Caesar.
The Lord stood by His apostle and strengthened him so that through him “the message might be fully
proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Tim. 4:17). As we hear the last report of Paul’s
whereabouts in Scripture, he is preaching the Word. Under house arrest in Rome and facing trial before
Caesar, Paul is “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all
boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31).
As witnesses we are always on call. The apostle Peter tells us not to fear those who wish to harm us. We
must always be prepared to present our case to anyone who might ask about the hope that is ours in
Christ. We are, however, to do this “with gentleness and respect” and with a good conscience (1 Pet.
3:15-16). Good behavior and charitable deeds in and of themselves are not a proclamation of the Gospel
message, but such actions support our witness and gain a hearing for the Word. The mercy of Christ Jesus
takes on flesh in the mercy that we show to those who hear the good news. James challenges us, “Show
me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18). We are
even told to feed a hungry enemy and give drink to a thirsty foe. In so doing, we will “heap burning coals
on his head” and overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:20-21).
Discuss circumstances in which charitable works might support the proclamation of the Gospel. Read
Acts 3. How might works of mercy gain a hearing for the Word and allow suffering people to hear the
Gospel?
Our response to hostility includes the proclamation of the Word, but it is not an excuse to begin
constructing our own crosses. The apostle Peter comments, “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if
that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:17). In this we follow Jesus Christ, the faithful
witness. Innocent of all sin, He suffered for us, “the righteous for the unrighteous.” Enduring and
overcoming all hostility, He Himself did what He would then command of us. Jesus, risen from the dead,
“went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,” declaring His triumph over the ancient enemy who wars
against the Word (1 Pet. 3:19). Baptized into Christ, we follow our Lord through death into life (Rom.
6:3-4), proclaiming the good news of His victory to people still imprisoned in the darkness of sin.
We are more than conquerors! Read Romans 8:31-39. Which of these verses speak directly to our
response to persecution and hostility? Which verses speak of our proclamation? Which speak of victory,
comfort, or hope?
instruction, and comfort.” Christopher Boyd Brown, Singing the Gospel: Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the
Reformation (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2005), 171.

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Commenting on John 15, Martin Luther writes that God permits the devil and the world to hound “every
Christian on His vine” with external and internal persecutions. In this way, God “purifies and trims the
branches, to make them stronger and better. All this is done that they may bear more fruit; that their faith
may assert itself more and more and, by reason of trials, may become sure and strong; that they may
praise God all the more, pray, preach, and confess. Then the Word and its power will increase
everywhere. This applies both to the believers, who themselves become stronger in faith and in
knowledge and to many others, who are to be brought to faith by them.”30
Jesus, the true Vine, tells us, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and
it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my
disciples” (John 15:7-8). Abiding in the Word, we ask the Lord to defend us against the persecution of
Satan and the world. We must also pray that we will faithfully proclaim the Word in the face of hostility
and that the seed of the Word will bear fruit: “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may
speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil
men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish and guard you against the evil one”
(2 Thess. 3:1-3).
Responsive Reading . . . Psalm 71

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Session 5:
“Is It Lawful?” (Acts 22:25)
Responding According to Our Rights as Citizens
In a letter addressed to the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense, retired military
chaplains wrote: “Put most simply, if the government normalizes homosexual behavior in the armed
forces, many (if not most) chaplains will confront a profoundly difficult moral choice: whether they are to
obey God or to obey men. This forced choice must be faced, since orthodox Christianity—which
represents a significant percentage of religious belief in the armed forces—does not affirm homosexual
behavior.”31
“The annual report released by the Oregon Public Health Division indicates 71 Oregonians died in 2013
after obtaining lethal medication to end their lives . . . The total known assisted suicides in Oregon stands
at 752 deaths.”32
“A report released by the Charlotte Lozier Institute finds that the United States is one of only seven
countries in the world to allow abortion past 20 weeks.” The other countries permitting elective abortions
after 20 weeks are Canada, China, North Korea, the Netherlands, Singapore and Vietnam.33
In Marriage and Religious Freedom: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together, An Open Letter
from Religious Leaders in the United States to All Americans, the authors state that “the most urgent peril
is this: forcing or pressuring both individuals and religious organizations—throughout their operations,
well beyond religious ceremonies—to treat same-sex sexual conduct as the moral equivalent of marital
sexual conduct. There is no doubt that the many people and groups whose moral and religious convictions
forbid same-sex sexual conduct will resist the compulsion of the law, and church-state conflicts will
result.”34
How are moral issues such as those described above evidence of hostility against the Word? How might
circumstances such as the above indicate rising hostility? How are such issues a threat to religious
liberty?
According to a report by Open Doors International, the rapid rise of religious persecution in the Central
African Republic in 2013 illustrates the overall increase of persecution in “failed states,” which Open
Doors defines as weak states “where social and political structures have collapsed to the point where
government has little or no control.” An officer with Open Doors comments that the report shows “the

31
Letter of April 28, 2010, 1-2. Chaplains of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod were among those who signed
this letter. The chaplains’ letter does not imply that the matter of same-sex relationships is itself a difficult moral
question—Scripture’s condemnation is explicit. The “difficult moral choice” indicated is that of determining the
particular instances in which obedience to God requires disobedience to human authorities. The chaplains’ letter is
available at http://oldsite.alliancedefensefund.org/userdocs/DADTLetter.pdf.
32
Life News (March 2014), http://www.lutheransforlife.org/media/life-news/. Media coverage of the decision of
brain cancer patient Brittany Maynard to end her own life (on November 1, 2014) brought national attention to the
topic of assisted suicide. LCMS Director of Life and Health Ministries Maggie Karner, also suffering from brain
cancer, brought a personal message of life and hope to the debate. See video commentary by Brittany and Maggie at
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/03/us/brittany-maynard-suicide-folo.
33
Life News (April 2014), http://www.lutheransforlife.org/media/life-news/.
34
Marriage and Religious Freedom: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together, An Open Letter from
Religious Leaders in the United States to All Americans (January 12, 2012), 1. President Matthew Harrison of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was one of the religious leaders who signed this letter. The letter is available at
http://lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=726&DocID=1620.

30
Martin Luther, Commentary on John 15:2, Luther’s Works, vol. 24, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1961), 209.

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2016 Convention Workbook

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