LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 459

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ADDITIONAL THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS—OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 459

mation instruction. This might even explain in part why some of
our congregations’ members do not attend Bible classes regularly
and why they do not feel a compelling need to attend the service of
God’s Word and Sacraments every Sunday. I often speak with pas-
tors who have a difficult time identifying people to serve as Sunday
School teachers, or who are willing to serve on a board or commit-
tee of the congregation. This indeed can be a very frustrating thing
for our pastors.

IV. The Royal Priesthood’s Duties and Opportunities

The Holy Scriptures describe all baptized Christians as a “royal
priesthood and a holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9). Speaking through
Moses, God had already told His people once before, “You shall
be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). We
have an awesome responsibility, pastors and laity alike. We are a
royal priesthood and a holy nation. We are kings and queens be-
fore God. We are chosen priests. What a marvelous blessing it is to
be counted among the royal priesthood of our Lord! As I men-
tioned in a previous section of this paper, there may be a tendency
among our laity to assume that because the pastor has such a high
calling from God to be the public servant of the Word and Sacra-
ments in the congregation, that somehow he or she as a layperson
really has no duties or opportunities to serve the Lord. It may even
be used by some as an excuse to avoid serving Christ in their daily
lives as well as in the local congregation. But be that as it may, the
Scriptures make it very clear that the royal priesthood is entrusted
with simply fantastic duties and opportunities. Even though I know
that you as brother pastors are fully aware of these, I would still
like to discuss these in this final section of my presentation.

The blessing and privilege of being part of the royal priesthood.

What a fantastic blessing it is to be a royal priest before God! In
a way, I simply cannot say that often enough. The members of the
royal priesthood have been given many sacred tasks to do in their
day-to-day lives, and we must not forget this special emphasis of
our Lutheran theology. The Lord, speaking through St. Peter, in-
forms us that we are to be like “newborn babies” who “long for the
pure spiritual milk” (1 Pet. 2:2). We are to be “like living stones . . .
built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5). Put
simply, the duty of the royal priesthood is to serve and obey our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—to “serve Him in everlasting right-
eousness, innocence and blessedness” as the Catechism puts it.
This is true of all of us as believers, no matter who we are or what
we may do. To serve and obey our Lord is the royal priesthood’s
highest calling from Christ. We do this in our daily lives in what-
ever calling we have, be it as a father or mother, a son or daughter,
an employer or employee. This is the number one way that God
expects and desires His royal priesthood to be in service to Him.
Our lives are to be lives that “declare the praises” of Him who
called us out of darkness into His light.

Now there are many ways in which this happens. This happens
through faithful, regular participation in the divine service of Word
and Sacrament where the people of God offer their praise and
thanks to their Lord who gives us His mercy and peace. This hap-
pens when we serve one another in love and serve our fellow man
in the world around us. And, yes, this happens as we actually tell
our neighbors and friends about the Lord and invite them to the
public service of Word and Sacrament so that they too might enter
into a saving relationship with the Master Himself.

The royal priesthood tell the good news about Jesus

What a fantastic privilege the royal priesthood has to be lights
shining in this dark world of sin! There is a vast mission field that
lies before us and our people. Think of the opportunities that
abound at the workplace, in the home, at the store, at school, at so-

cial gatherings—right where we live. And then we add to this the
incredible opportunities the Lord provides to us throughout the
world and we quickly recognize that the mission opportunities—
opportunities to tell the good news about Jesus—are everywhere.
These are places our pastors frequent, and yet are unable to be very
active in because of their duties in the congregation. C.F.W.
Walther was especially concerned that this privilege of proclaiming
the Gospel to others be understood as the responsibility of the en-
tire spiritual priesthood—not just among fellow Christians on Sun-
day mornings, but in their day-to-day lives, among their families,
among their co-workers and friends and relatives and neighbors.
Walther once said in his essay on “The Duties of an Evangelical
Lutheran Synod”:

A sixth major duty of a Synod thal would wish to be and remain an
Evangelical Lutheran Synod is that it not seek its own glory but only
the glory of God, being intent not so much on its own growth but rather
on the growth of Christ’s kingdom and the salvation of souls. ... You
see, dear brethren, .. . we are assembled here not for our own sake. We
are in the faith, and by this faith we hope to be saved! But there are still
many millions who have no faith! This is why we are here . . . so that
we might bring salvation to as many people as we possibly can, so that
the sad situation in Christendom and the corruption of the poor, blind
heathen might be remedied. . . . Only for this reason does our gracious
God aliow Christians to live on earth, that they might bring others to
the saving faith. Otherwise God would immediately take a Christian to
heaven as soon as he is converted.'?

We are told in Acts that all Christians are to proclaim the Word
in their daily callings and activities. The Christians who had scat-
tered from Jerusalem were said to have “proclaimed the Word
wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). Literally, this verse says, “They
proclaimed the good news of the Word wherever they went.” This
proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ takes on many
forms, even as it did in the days of the New Testament. Priscilla
and Aquila took it upon themselves to explain the Word more com-
pletely to Apollos (Acts 18:26). Paul exhorts us to “speak to one
another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make
music in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19).

The Office of the Holy Ministry is subsumed under the Gospel.
The Gospel is not subsumed under the Office, and most certainly
not “embodied” in the person of the pastor. It is surely true that
God speaks through His servants our pastors, but we must not per-
mit these proper understandings to be clouded by confusing
rhetoric suggesting that the “pastor is Jesus.”

Let there be no mistake here. Whenever the Gospel is pro-
claimed it is a declaration and proclamation of the forgiveness of
sins. It is wrong for anyone to suggest that only ordained pastors
have the ability to proclaim the Gospel in such a way that it is a
word of forgiveness. The Gospel is always about forgiveness. That
is what it is all about. While holding high the office of the pastor,
Martin Luther was also very clear on this point. Here are but a few
examples:

“Every Christian has the command, not only that he can, but should,
say to you when you are troubled by your sin: Why are you troubled?
As your fellow Christian, I say to you, you are not fair to yourself, for
God is not ungracious toward you; you ought to trust these words just as
surely as though Christ were speaking to you personally from heaven,
never questioning them because of the person of the one from whom
you hear them.”

“When you go to the parish pastor, who has been given his office, or
to some other Christian, asking that he comfort you and absolve you
from your sin, and he says to you, ‘In the stead of God, I declare to you
the forgiveness of all your sins through Christ,’ then you may be certain
thal through the external word your sins are really and truly forgiven.”

‘“‘We must not despise baptism, absolution, preaching, and the Sacra-
ment, but seek and receive forgiveness of sins in this way. That is why
God has ordained that there be pastors, fathers and mothers, and tellow
Christians, and he places his Word in their mouths, that we might seek
comfort and forgiveness of sins lhrough them. Even though it is just
people who speak, nevertheless, it is not just they who speak but it is
God’s Word. Therefore, trust it implicitly and do not despise it...”'

2001 Convention Workbook