LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 303

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
WHEREAS, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for
every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17); and
WHEREAS, “We confess our adherence to the prophetic and
apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments, as to the pure,
clear fountain of Israel, which alone is the one true guiding
principle, according to which all teachers and teaching are to be
judged and evaluated” (Formula of Concord [FC] Solid Declaration
[SD], Summary Content, Rule, and Norm 3 [Kolb & Wengert]); and
WHEREAS, The writings of Moses, including the book of
Genesis, are both theologically and historically authoritative for
Christ and his apostles (Matt. 19:4; 22:31, Luke 16:31; 24:44; John
5:46–47; Acts 10:43; etc.); and
WHEREAS, Our Synod’s publicly stated position on the age of the
earth is set forth in “A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of
the Missouri Synod” (adopted 1932), Article 5:
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 22, 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.
WHEREAS, The genealogical evidence provided by Genesis 5 and
11, which dates the earth’s age near 6,000 years, excludes the
lengths of time necessary to wholly or partially accept
cosmological, geological, archeological, and biological theories
which posit millions and billions of years of this earth’s existence;
and
WHEREAS, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and
the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25); therefore
be it
Resolved, That the members of Risen Christ Lutheran Church,
Arvada, Colorado request the Synod in convention to confess:
• that the inspired and inerrant Scriptures relate the
authoritative historical accounts of man’s creation and
redemption; and
• that the straightforward reading of the genealogies in
Genesis 5 and 11 can and should be used to limit our public
teaching about the age of the earth to less than ten thousand
years instead of millions or billions of years;
and be it further
Resolved, That pastors, teachers, professors, and Synod officials
be strongly encouraged to speak openly and without shame about
our church’s unanimous confession of the Scripture’s authority
against the deemed to be erroneous doctrines and secular authorities
which assert a history contrary to God’s Word and develop
resources for the education of the laity on this issue.
Risen Christ
Arvada, CO

303

Ov. 5-26

To Affirm Young Earth as Biblical Doctrine
WHEREAS, The Scripture of the Old and New Testaments, which
is the inerrant Word of God, is the only rule and norm of faith and
life (Psalm 119:105; John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; Formula
of Concord Solid Declaration Binding Summary 3); and
WHEREAS, Christ’s words presuppose the inspiration and
veracity of the five books of Moses (Matt. 17:3; 19:4–5; Mark
12:26; Luke 16:31; 24:44; John 5:46); and
WHEREAS, Darwinian evolution presupposes death before and
apart from sin which contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture that
death came as a result of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21); and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) at
the 2019 convention adopted Resolution 5-09A that stated, “God
created the world in six natural days” which affirms that the earth
was created merely a few days before Adam; and
WHEREAS, Jesus says that “from the beginning of creation, ‘God
made them male and female’” (Mark 10:6); and
WHEREAS, While Israelite genealogies may not necessarily
provide complete information from generation to generation, the
chrono-genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11, which show the Messianic
line of descent from Adam to Noah, and then to Abraham, do show
a clear and complete line of descent which does not allow for any
gaps; and
WHEREAS, In Genesis 5 and 11 the inspired, inerrant Word also
gives us the number of years that elapsed between the events listed
therein; and
WHEREAS, Evolutionists would like you to believe that the Bible
doesn’t give enough information about the age of the earth so one
really cannot base his conclusions about the age of the earth on
Scripture, but should look to science to answer such questions; and
WHEREAS, If Scripture gets it wrong on earthly things, how can
we trust it on spiritual things? As Jesus told Nicodemus, “If I have
told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe
if I tell you heavenly things” (John 3:12); and
WHEREAS, While evolutionary theories exclude God from the
creation and require billions of years, these theories are
emphatically refuted by a universe and earth that are less than ten
thousand years old; therefore be it
Resolved, That the LCMS in convention reaffirm that Genesis 5
and 11 accurately show the complete Messianic line of descent from
Adam to Noah, and then to Abraham, giving us the time between
the events listed; and be it further
Resolved, That adding the years given establishes the age of the
earth as less than ten thousand years old rather than in terms of
millions or billions of years.
St. Peter
Lodi, CA
Ov. 5-27

To Confirm Synodical Position Concerning Special
Creation, Young Earth, and Global Flood
WHEREAS, It has been over 90 years since the Synod has
formally stated its position concerning special creation, a young
Earth, and a global flood; and

2023 Convention Workbook