LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Sheet 361

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS

A Pastoral Perspective
Freedom, Legalism, and the Christian Life

From the foregoing discussion the question arises, if gambling holds
so great a potential for abuse, why not simply declare it a sin and condemn
it in all its forms? A word of caution, however, is in order.

Some Christians have taken the position that certain behaviors (such
as any form of dancing, smoking, alcoholic consumption, the cinema, card
games, certain forms of music, and the like) are sinful because they can (and
often do) lead to sinful behavior. Such a way of proceeding is reminiscent
of the thinking of religious leaders of Jesus’ day. The rabbis built a so-
called “fence around the law” in order not to commit a sin by oversight
and in so doing they placed terrible burdens upon God's people.*! The
Scriptures themselves, however, warn against the tendency (which God's
people throughout history have not always successfully resisted) to teach
“as doctrines the precepts of men” (Matt. 15:9). Where God's Word does
not clearly declare a certain behavior sinful, we must refrain from bind-
ing the consciences of others. We must neither take away from nor add to
Scripture.” (It should also be noted that such a “fence-building” proce-
dure, which becomes fascinated with regulating the believer's life in
minute detail, also is in grave danger of falling prey toa Gospel-denying,
legalism, which makes “godly behavior’—that is, the avoidance of evil
and the doing of good—the standard for a right relationship with God.)

Of this “fence around the law” D.S. Russell writes: “Sometimes ... Laws arising out of
prevailing custom became established which could not find justification in the Torah, but
authority would be given to them on the ground that they formed a ‘fence round the Torah’
(Pirke Aboth 1.1). This ‘fence’ consisted of cautionary rules, such as that forbidding not sim
ply the use but even the handling of tools for the Sabbath day. Thus a man would be halted
Before he found himself within striking distance of a breach of the law of God. In such ways
the Torah was made more and more the centre of the people's life.” D.S. Russell, Between the
Testaments (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1965), 65. See also Eduard Lohse, The New Testament
Environment (Nashville: Abingdon, 1971), 82.

* Dr. Francis Pieper wrote in this connection, “the church has ... no power to legislate
bevond the Word of Gad. It can command only where God has commanded in His Word.”
Under no conditions is the church “to allow liberty where Scripture commands and, on the
other hand, never to command anything where Scripture is silent.” Quoted in Theodore
Graebner, The Borderland of Right and Wrong, rev. ed. (St, Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1956), 40.

13

Employing a logic similar to the rabbinic form of reasoning and with
application to the issue of gambling, some today may be ted to argue that,
though the Scriptures do not speak directly to the matter, because of the
attitudes, desires, and habits that gambling so strongly encourages and
promotes, it is virtually impossible for an individual to gamble without
sinning. The implication then drawn is that every act of gambling must be
declared sinful and prohibited to those who wish to call themselves Chris-
tans.

To safeguard the principle of Christian liberty, and in faithfulness to
the sola scriptura principle, we must refrain from declaring that each and
every act of gambling is in and of itself contrary to the Word of God and
therefore sinfut. This is not to diminish the potential for wrongdoing in the
lives of those who gamble, but it is to say that individuals will need to exer-
cise careful discernment in light of the scriptural concerns such as those
raised in this document.™ In the words of St. Paul, “you were called to free-
dom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the
flesh, but through love be servants of one another ... I say, walk by the
Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:13, 16).

Mindful of the Gospel’s power to renew hearts and minds, pastors and
congregations will help individuals develop a sense of personal responsi-
bility regarding the use of the gifts God has entrusted to them. This
involves such dimensions of the Christian life as the examination of
motives, proper management of time and possessions, and faithfulness in
vocation and family life. The church’s ministry to persons troubled by the
problem of gambling in their personal lives must be centered in the Gospel
of forgiveness, for it is ultimately only the grace of God revealed in His Son
that is able to liberate them from the temptations that so easily beset those
who gamble. Our sins are forgiven in Christ, including the sins of greed
and lovelessness toward others. Through the power of His Holy Spirit,
God helps us to open our hearts in love and kindness, for He is at work in
us both “to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).

"Te may be asked, for instance, whether less institutionalized types of gambling, such as
penny-ante poker, sporting event office pools, golfing for a small wager “fast to make it
interesting,” etc., involve the same degree of potential abuse as the more institutionalized
methods (uch as skot machines, roulette, lotteries, video poker. etc.) referred to previously
in this document. Small-stakes games may be seen as less problematic, since they are not
normally engaged in to make money in any meaningful sense. That is to say, such activities
tend to have as their focus the game itself and not the money associated with the game—
though, of course, those who bet token money “yust for fun” should be aware of the tempta-
tion to ignore the dangers that actually do exist and must evaluate their activities in light of
the scriptural principles discussed in this report.

14