Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 2019 · 67th Convention, Tampa › Page 437
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 437

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

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
Resolved, That the Central Illinois District confess and reaffirm
that God created the world in six days, the same length as the days
after creation (Ex. 20:9–11) and not according to so-called, “DayAge” theories; and be it further
Resolved, That the district confess and reaffirm that Adam was a
real man and that it is the consequence of his sin that death has come
into the world; and be it further
Resolved, That the district confess and reaffirm that theistic
evolution or old earth creationism which teaches that God used an
evolutionary process to create mankind and that death is a natural
occurrence, not the result of Adam’s sin, and is in direct
contradiction to the teaching of Holy Scripture; and be it further
Resolved, That the district confess and reaffirm the official
position of the LCMS regarding creation as stated in the Brief
Statement (supra); and be it finally
Resolved, That the district send this resolution as an overture to
the 2019 Synod convention.
Central Illinois District
Ov. 5-21

To Reaffirm the Biblical Witness
of a Six-Day Creation
WHEREAS, The LORD created the universe in six days (Genesis
1 and 2); and
WHEREAS, The issue of creation as contrasted to the theory of
evolution continues to arise in the church; and
WHEREAS, A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the
Missouri Synod (Adopted 1932) states:
We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the
manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures,
especially Genesis 1 and 2, namely, by His almighty creative
word, and in six days. We reject every doctrine which denies or
limits the work of creation as taught in Scripture. In our days it
is denied or limited by those who assert, ostensibly in deference
to science, that the world came into existence through a process
of evolution; that is, that it has, in immense periods of time,
developed more or less of itself. Since no man was present when
it pleased God to create the world, we must look for a reliable
account of creation to God’s own record, found in God’s own
book, the Bible. We accept God’s own record with full
confidence and confess with Luther’s Catechism: “I believe that
God has made me and all creatures.”; and
WHEREAS, The Synod has instructed its educational agencies and
teachers to reaffirm the biblical message of creation; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Minnesota North District reaffirm the biblical
witness to a six-day creation and memorialize the 2019 Synod
convention to do the same.
Minnesota North District
Ov. 5-22

To Humbly Confess the Six Twenty-Four Hour
Day Creation as Being
in Accordance with Holy Scripture
WHEREAS, All Scripture is “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16 NIV)
and “truth” (John 17:17 KJV) to guide us in the way of
righteousness and faith during our pilgrimage here on earth; and

437

WHEREAS, We are called as children of God to confess the faith
as opportunity presents itself as Peter encourages, “always being
ready to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for
the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15); and
WHEREAS, Many within and without Christian churches have
adopted evolution based on an old earth chronology over the last
159 years to explain the origin of the universe; and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has
faithfully confessed the historicity of Genesis 1–3, which describe
God creating the heavens and the earth in six days (six 24-hour days
is the most natural reading of the text as also indicated in Ex. 31:17),
the creation of Adam and Eve, and the fall into sin; and
WHEREAS, The temptation is always around to harmonize the
Bible and science, by for example making the six days of creation
six indeterminate periods of time as theistic evolution does;
therefore be it
Resolved, That the LCMS confess and reaffirm their official
position regarding creation:
We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the
manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures,
especially Gen. 1 and 2, namely, by His almighty creative word,
and in six days. We reject every doctrine which denies or limits
the work of creation taught in Scripture. In our days it is denied
or limited by those who assert, ostensibly in deference to science,
that the world came into existence through a process of
evolution; that is, that it has, in immense periods of time,
developed more or less of itself. Since no man was present when
it pleased God to create the world, we must look for a reliable
account of creation to God’s own record, found in God’s own
book, the Bible. We accept God’s own record with full
confidence and confess with Luther’s Catechism: “I believe that
God has made me and all creatures.” (A Brief Statement of the
Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod [St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1932);
and be it further
Resolved, That the North Wisconsin District Circuit 3 Forum
send this overture to the 2019 Synod convention.
Circuit 3
North Wisconsin District
Ov. 5-23

To Confess and Reaffirm the Six Days of Creation
Are Six Ordinary/Normal Days
WHEREAS, The 2017 South Wisconsin District Pastoral Fall
Conference adopted unanimously the resolution “To Confess and
Reaffirm Six-Day Creation and the Official Position of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod”; and
WHEREAS, Synod in convention has never formally defined Day
(‫ יוֹם‬Yom’) used in context to creation; and
WHEREAS, Day (‫ יוֹם‬Yom’) is defined and limited by the addition
of “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day”
(Gen.1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31); and
WHEREAS, The days in Genesis 1 are consecutively numbered
and comprised of an “evening and morning”; and
WHEREAS, Ex. 20:8–11 commands a literal week of six days of
work and one day of rest based on God’s original creation/rest
week. The two weeks (Genesis 1 and Ex. 20:8–11) would imply
equal duration; and
2019 Convention Workbook