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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 421

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

CHURCH AND CULTURE
Ov. 11-24

To Affirm the Church’s Freedom
to Celebrate the Divine Service
WHEREAS, To obtain saving faith, God has given the Word and
Sacraments and instituted the Office of the Ministry to administer
these gifts (Matt. 28:18–20; John 20:21–23; Augsburg Confession
[AC] V 1–3; AC XIV); and
WHEREAS, The church is the assembly of all believers among
whom the Gospel is purely preached, and the Holy Sacraments are
administered according to the Gospel (AC VII 1), and God has
commanded His people to gather to hear His Word and receive His
Sacraments (Acts 2:42; 1 Tim. 4:13; Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 11:24–25),
just as the Lutheran Confessions say that the Sacrament of the Altar
is celebrated every Lord’s day (Apology of the Augsburg
Confession XXIV 1); and
WHEREAS, God has designed His creation with three estates—
the family, the church, and the government; and
WHEREAS, These three estates remain (and continue their
defining functions) until the end of time, even during pandemic,
famine, war, etc.; and
WHEREAS, The authority of the government in relation to the
Fourth Commandment is derived from the estate of the family, “For
all other authority is derived and developed out of the authority of
parents” (Large Catechism I 141); and
WHEREAS, The government is given by God to reward good and
punish evil and maintain order as defined by God’s holy will
(Romans 13; AC XVI 1–2), and deals with bodies and goods, not
spiritual matters (AC XXVIII 11); and
WHEREAS, The church rightfully operates in God’s right hand
rule through the Gospel as she seeks to bring forgiveness and
salvation through Christ’s means of grace; and
WHEREAS, The government rightfully operates in God’s left
hand rule, as it works through the Law to maintain order and restrain
sin; and
WHEREAS, The church is not entirely independent of the
government’s left hand rule as she deals with non-spiritual matters
of operation (zoning laws, building permits, occupancy permits,
etc.); and
WHEREAS, The First Amendment to the United States
Constitution recognizes the rights of free exercise of religion and
assembly; and
WHEREAS, The government has no God-given authority over the
spiritual matters of the church’s administration of the Means of
Grace as they take place in the Divine Service; therefore be it
Resolved, That we affirm the church’s and family’s status as
having their God-given role in caring for both body and soul; and
be it further
Resolved, That we confess that the government has no Godgiven authority to place restrictions on the church’s ability to
celebrate the Divine Service; and be it further
Resolved, That we hold the government to have exceeded its
God-given authority in placing restrictions on the church that did
not apply elsewhere; and be it further
Resolved, That we affirm that in time of pandemic or public crisis
the church in Christian freedom should seek to implement measures
that serve the public good while continuing to carry out her essential

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role of offering the Word and the Sacraments in the Divine Service;
and be it further
Resolved, That we exhort and encourage one another to confess
boldly the essential nature and function of the church, especially in
the event of future government-mandated shutdowns or restrictions
to the celebration of the Divine Service; and be it further
Resolved, That we confess to the world that only the Gospel of
the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ can provide final
victory over sin, sickness, and death; and be it further
Resolved, That the congregations of the Central Illinois District
will be encouraged to take notice of all government actions
regarding public health, and while “seeking to live at peace with all
men,” the church will implement those actions that, in her own
judgment, do not interfere with her God-given functions, while
respectfully choosing not to observe any government decree,
mandate, executive action, law, or court order which does so
interfere, according to her own God-given authority to do so and
regardless of the civil government’s permission or restrictions; and
be it finally
Resolved, That the district in convention memorialize the 2023
Synod convention to affirm the church’s freedom to celebrate the
Divine Service.
Central Illinois District
Ov. 11-25

To Affirm Need for Open Churches
during Times of Plague, Pestilence, and Pandemic
WHEREAS, God has commanded us to set aside a day to gather
together (Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15; Psalm 149:1; Col. 3:16; Heb.
10:19–25) to “hear and use [His] Word, and then to praise [Him],
to sing and to pray” (Large Catechism [LC] I 84); and
WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted His Supper for the
forgiveness of sins, refreshment, comfort, and strength (Matt.
26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:15–20; 1 Cor. 11:23–26; LC V
72); and
WHEREAS, The Divine Service (Mass) was retained at the time
of the Reformation, for the purpose of hearing God’s Word,
receiving the Lord’s Supper, and returning to Him our sacrifices of
prayer, praise, and thanksgiving (Augsburg Confession [AC] XXIV
1); and
WHEREAS, As our Lord was physically present with His disciples
at His institution of His Supper and personally administered the
elements to them, He calls His undershepherds, namely the men
whom He has called to the Office of the Holy/Public Ministry, to
administer His Supper in person to His people (John 20:22–23; AC
V; AC VII 1; AC XXIV 30); and
WHEREAS, Jesus, through whom all was created and being one
with the Father (John 1:3, 10:30; Nicene Creed, 2nd Article), at the
time He instituted His Supper, understood the complexities of
microbiology and anticipated forthcoming plagues, yet did not call
for the suspension of in-person gatherings around His Word and
Sacraments during such times; and
WHEREAS, We must therefore, “never think of the Sacrament as
something harmful from which we had better flee, but as a pure,
wholesome, comforting remedy that grants salvation and comfort”
(LC V 68); and

2023 Convention Workbook