LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 159

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To Commend and Encourage Faithful Teaching
of Article on Which Church Stands or Falls

Resolved, That the LCMS reaffirm the centrality of the doctrine
of justification for the life of the church and the salvation of individuals; and be it further

RESOLUTION 5-10

Resolved, That the LCMS reaffirm that the right teaching of justification requires the proper distinction between Law and Gospel;
and be it further

President’s Report, Part 2 (TB, pp. 21–31)
Whereas, “By works of the law no human being will be justified,” but God has given His Son into human flesh, to bear our
sin, so that all who believe in Him may be “justified by his grace
as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom.
3:20–25a; John 3:16-17, 6:40; Acts 10:43; Rom. 5:1; Gal. 2:16, 3:8–
11; Titus 3:7); and
Whereas, The clear teaching of the Gospel, that we are justified
by grace through faith in Christ, was restored with brilliance by the
almighty God through the Reformation and is beautifully articulated in the Lutheran Confessions: Augsburg Confession (AC)
Article IV; Apology of the AC, Article IV; Smalcald Articles (SA),
Article II 13; SC II; Large Catechism (LC) Part II; Formula of Concord (FC) Epitome (Ep)/Solid Declaration (SD) III; and
Whereas, This concentration on sinful man and the God who
justifies is Lutheranism’s greatest contribution for all of Christianity
since the doctrine of justification reminds us that sinful man has
always defied God and abused and misused His goodness and His
gifts—and that the justifying God alone can and does re-create His
fallen world by His word of forgiveness; and
Whereas, The Gospel of justification is always directly connected to the external Word—to the Law in which God speaks
against me and the Gospel in which He speaks for me; and
Whereas, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS)
emphatically holds such teachings on justification by its unreserved
acceptance of the Holy Scriptures as the written Word of God and
the only rule and norm of faith and of practice and its confession
that the entire Book of Concord contains true and unadulterated
teachings of Scripture; and
Whereas, The LCMS has reiterated with certainty its commitment to this understanding of justification by adopting the Brief
Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod in 1932
(“Of Faith in Christ,” chapters 9, 17–19); and
Whereas, Justification, as an article of faith, is often described
as “the article on which the church stands or falls” because a failure to teach it rightly results in human beings trusting themselves,
rather than God, for their salvation; and
Whereas, False teaching about justification is a recurring
problem (e.g., in popular preachers who favor a how-to theology
of successful living, in those who deny the justification of all the
world [objective justification], or in those who confuse justification and sanctification) that may lead people to trust in themselves
instead of in God, who alone justifies (Rom. 8:33); and
Whereas, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations
(CTCR) 1983 report Theses on Justification (http://www.lcms.org/
Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=422) provides helpful clarity about
this central teaching of the Christian faith; therefore be it

“5. Theology and Church Relations”

Resolved, That the LCMS affirm that the CTCR’s Theses on Justification is in agreement with Scripture and the Confessions and
encourage the Synod to use them as a resource in the study of the
doctrine of justification; and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS in convention encourage the study of
the doctrine of justification by circuits and congregations as part
of the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation; and be it finally
Resolved, That the LCMS ask the CTCR, in consultation with the
seminary faculties, to prepare a biblical and confessional study of
the doctrine of justification for use by the congregations and called
workers of the LCMS for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
Action: Adopted (6)
(Res. 5-10 was adopted as presented [Yes: 933; No: 25].)

To Protect Christian Consciences and
Address Conscription of Women
RESOLUTION 5-11A
Overtures 5-29–32 (CW, pp. 354–356)
Whereas, On December 3, 2015, United States Secretary of
Defense Ashton Carter opened all military occupations and
positions to women, including those involving direct combat
engagement; and
Whereas, On January 1, 2016, implementation of this policy
began; and
Whereas, This policy was implemented despite significant
division over the matter among the general American population,
lawmakers, and the military itself; and
Whereas, The Marine Corps’ request for a partial exemption
from the order was denied; and
Whereas, On June 14, 2016, the United States Senate voted
on Senate Bill 2943 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017) which included under “Subtitle H” at Section 591
(Applicability of Military Selective Service Act to Female Citizens
and Persons) the following provision: “(b) (1) The duty to register
imposed on male citizens and persons residing in the United States
by subsection (a) shall apply to female citizens of the United States
and female persons residing in the United States who attain the age
of 18 years on or after January 1, 2018,” which provision and bill
must yet be reconciled with H.R. 4909 by the same name (National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017); and

U P O N T H I S R O C K • Resolutions

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