LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 69

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SYNOD REPORTS 69

that the great gifts promised here are truly given and received. The
commission says: “To. ..insert some personal idiosyncrasy into the
consecration is to detract the people’s attention from the Sacrament.
The congregation’s focus is to be on Christ’s word and invitation.
The celebrant is a servant to sharpen that focus” (PLS, 15).

4) The gracious blessings given and received in the Lord’s Supper are
not in any way dependent on human attempts to recapture “the dy-
namics that were present in the Upper Room when Jesus first insti-
tuted the Sacrament.” (Attempting to “recapture the dynamics” of
this first-century event by using a DVD player seems especially ill-
conceived and ill-advised.) The blessings of the Lord’s Supper are
dependent only on Christ’s word and promise: “It is in Christ’s
word that the Christian Church receives the Lord’s invitation: ‘Take
and eat; this is my body’” (7PLS, 5). The church’s primary concern,
therefore, is “rightly to follow the Savior’s guidance” in its use and
celebration of this great gift (TPLS, 5).

Finally, it is important to note that this response of the commission
is in no way intended to pass judgment on the motives of those in-
volved in this practice. The sole purpose of this response is to pro-
mote and encourage the proper practice of the Lord’s Supper in
faithfulness to the teaching and example of Christ, so that doubts
and questions may be replaced by faith in Christ’s gracious word,
promise, and presence.

Adopted February 18, 2006

4. Request for an Opinion Regarding Adoption by Homosexual
Couples

In a letter dated May 1, 2006, the commission received a re-
quest from Rev. Matthew Harrison, executive director of the
Board for Human Care Ministries, asking the commission to
“comment on the matter of LCMS recognized agencies placing
adopted or foster children into homosexual contexts.” At its May
2006 meeting, the commission adopted the following statement in
response to this request:

The Board for Human Care of the LCMS has asked the Commis-
sion on Theology and Church Relations “to comment on the matter
of LCMS recognized service agencies placing adopted or foster
children in homosexual contexts.” In response to this request, the
commission states the following. While Scripture does not specifi-
cally address social and political questions concerning the adop-
tion (or foster care) of children, the Bible does clearly teach (as the
Synod has repeatedly stated) that “homophile behavior is intrinsi-
cally sinful (1973 Res. 2-04), that “same-sex unions are, accord-
ing to the Scriptures, contrary to the will of the Creator and sin
against the commandments of God” (1998 Res. 3-21), and that the
God-given union of husband and wife in marriage ‘is the only
proper context of human procreation” (1983 Res. 3-14). On the
basis of the clear teaching of Scripture regarding homosexual be-
havior and about God’s will and design for marriage and the family
as the foundational units of society as a whole, it is the opinion of
the CTCR that a policy of placing adopted or foster children into
homosexual contexts would stand in opposition to the official doc-
trinal position of the Synod.

Adopted May 2, 2006

5. Request for an Opinion on Legislation Regarding Same-Sex Civil
Unions

The 1998 convention of the Synod adopted Res. 3-21 “To Af-
firm the Sanctity of Marriage and Reject Same-Sex Civil Unions,”
in which the Synod declared that same-sex unions are contrary to
our Creator’s will and sin against His commandments. The Synod
encouraged all its members to bear public witness that heterosexual
marriage is an estate to be held in honor by all and keep inviolate
(Heb. 13:4; 1 Thess. 4:2-5).” In February 2004, President
Kieschnick asked for the CTCR’s counsel on what the LCMS as a
confessional Lutheran church body can say about same-sex unions
in the civil realm, and in particular whether Christians may support

legislation offering legal benefits given to married partners to peo-
ple of the same sex united in a legally recognized civil union. At its
May 2006 meeting, the commission adopted an opinion titled
“Legislation Regarding Same-Sex Unions,” which it forwarded to
the President and placed online at www.lcms.org/ctcr. At its De-
cember 2006 meeting, the commission rejected a proposed minor-
ity statement by Mr. Paul Nus “as not being in compliance with” its
guidelines regarding minority statements.

The commission’s opinion reads as follows:

Reflecting upon Resolution 3-21 (1998), “To Affirm the
Sanctity of Marriage and to Reject Same-Sex Unions,” President
Kieschnick has asked the CTCR to respond to the following
question:

In the ongoing debate in our country regarding the definition of mar-
fiage, what can we as a confessional Lutheran church say about same-
sex civil unions? Although these unions are contrary to the will of the
Creator, may Christians support legislation offering the legal benefits
given to married partners to people of the same sex united in a legally
recognized civil union?

The first sentence of this request raises a theological question
that is answered clearly and straightforwardly in the very next sen-
tence: same-sex unions “are contrary to the will of the Creator.”
This is the clear teaching of Scripture, and it is the official position
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. In 1998 Res. 3-21 (“To
Affirm the Sanctity of Marriage and to Reject Same-Sex Unions”),
the Synod says:

Whereas, The Sacred Scriptures teach that in the beginning the
blessed Trinity instituted marriage to be the life-long union of one man
and one woman (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6), to be held in honor by all;
and

Whereas, Homosexual unions come under categorical prohibition
in the Old and New Testaments (Lev. 18:22, 24; 20:13; 1 Cor. 6:9-10;
1 Tim. 1:9-10) as contrary to the Creator’s design (Rom. 1:26—27);
therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod declare that same-sex unions are, accord-
ing to the Scriptures, contrary to the will of the Creator and sin against
the commandments of God; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod encourage all its members to give a pub-
lic witness in word and deed to heterosexual marriage as an estate to be
held in honor by all and kept inviolate (Heb. 13:4; 1 Thess. 4:2-5).
While clearly affirming this theological position, the request

goes on to raise a political question: “Although these unions are
contrary to the will of the Creator, may Christians support legisla-
tion offering the legal benefits given to married partners to people
of the same sex united in a legally recognized civil union?”

Questions about political legislation of behavior that is itself
clearly “contrary to the will of the Creator” must be dealt with on
the basis of a proper understanding of the historic Lutheran dis-
tinction between God’s rule and activity in the “left-hand kingdom”
and his rule and activity in the “right-hand kingdom.” God rules in
the left-hand (secular) kingdom over all people (Christians and
non-Christians) through fallen human leaders, governments and
structures and through imperfect, humanly-made laws. God rules
in the right-hand (spiritual) kingdom by grace alone over all those
(and only those) who trust in Christ as their Savior, forgiving their
sins and sustaining their faith through the means of grace and the
power of his Spirit (see AC/Ap XVI; Romans 13).

In its 1995 report, Render Unto Caesar...and Unto God: A
Lutheran View of Church and State, the CTCR discusses at some
length the challenges and complexities that Christians face as they
live in these “two realms” at the same time, as members of Christ’s
body, the church, and as citizens of a particular earthly government.
As they grapple with and debate questions about specific legisla-
tion in the civil realm, the commission suggests that Christians
should distinguish carefully between theological judgments (made
on the basis of God’s Word) and /egal or political judgments

2007 Convention Workbook