LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 70

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Gospel, called to preach the Gospel, sent to preach the Gospel,
lived to preach the Gospel, died preaching the Gospel!

Sanctifier, the rejection of Christ’s own sacred teaching in
Matthew 19:4, “Male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:27).

In Acts 4 we read that Peter and John got in trouble for healing
a disabled man, that is, for “giving bold witness by word and
deed to the love and work of God.”

Questions of conscience arise ever more intensely in our lives.
Knowing the truth of Christ as Savior, and consequently, the
truth of His Word (the inerrant Scriptures), frees our
conscience from guilt, and frees us for confession and action. I
recently was told of a pious Christian high school teacher in
Illinois. The state brought in “experts” to talk to the students
about how one can turn female genitalia into male surgically.
Members of our own families are being overcome by the
delusions of our time. Many face hostility at work or school for
holding to the Sacred Word of God, and the words of our Savior.
We say with St. Peter, “Lord to whom shall we go. You have the
words of eternal life” (John 6:66).

So they called them and charged them not to speak or
teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John
answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God
to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for
we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
(Acts 4:18–20)
And here’s what they spoke,
And when they had set them in the midst, they
inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do
this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to
them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being
examined today concerning a good deed done to a
crippled man, by what means this man has been
healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people
of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the
dead—by him this man is standing before you well.
This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the
builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there
is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name
under heaven given among men by which we must be
saved.” (Act 4:7–12)
In Acts 5 the apostles are called before the officials yet again.
“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet
here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and
you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But
Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God
rather than men.” (Act 5:28–29)
Now notice how this compulsion to preach Jesus, the burden of
the apostolic conscience, is the compulsion to preach the clear,
specific Gospel.
The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed
by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right
hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel
and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these
things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given
to those who obey him. (Acts 5:30–32)
The Synod’s constitution says our objective is to “Strengthen
congregations and their members in giving bold witness by word and
deed to the love and work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
and extend that Gospel witness into all the world.” This is as biblical
and clear as the word and work of Jesus, and the word and
works of His apostles in Acts 4 and 5.
The Question of Christian Conscience
It seems to me that the question of the Christian conscience is
one of the greatest issues of our times. This is important
because we stand in the face of the denial of the Trinity, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, as Creator, and therefore Redeemer and

70 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION

Questions of conscience plague us. Should I stay in a position or
a job, quietly doing good and witnessing as I can, or am I
compromising my biblical convictions by being silent? What
shall I do? I need the money to care for my family. Do I speak my
views kindly and openly to my in-laws or grandchildren? Do I
risk being cut off with no opportunity for influence?
Can I in good conscience be a part of a community that
participates in the most ridiculous, sexualized trans activities
directed at children in public libraries? Can I receive treatment
by doctors and hospitals whose actions are diametrically
opposed to natural law, life, and Christian ethics? Can I live
with my conscience intact in these scenarios? Can I invest my
money in compromised institutions? Are there any that are not?
Can I support my sports team even though they celebrate and
promote actions diametrically opposed to natural law, the Ten
Commandments, the Word of God? Shall our congregation and
school keep a low profile so we can escape political, legal, or
state scrutiny and entanglements? Do we go silent or
compromise on the sexuality issues so that we can reach out to
more diverse people?
Some answers are clear. Some are less clear. How active should
the congregation, school, district, or Synod be when the
government attacks the religious freedom of a Lutheran school,
violating the First Amendment regarding the “free exercise of
religion”? Does the government have the right to legislate what
happens within the sanctuary, or more precisely, the specific
sacred acts within the sanctuary? (I say no.) There are more
“Here I stand” moments coming.
We Lutherans know something about conscience and
confession. In fact, the entire Reformation was about
conscience, the value and place of divinely given Law and
reason (including left hand kingdom things like family and
government), and the authority of the Bible. Luther had a
horribly tortured conscience. The Law tortured him and
damned him. The law of merit crucified him. The mixing of
church and government confounded him. His conscience
terrified him. He knew what the Law demanded of him,
thought, word, and deed. And he knew his own sinful reality.
The Gospel of Christ eluded him.
The Lord brought him gradually to the truth. He stopped on the
way at Augustinianism, at mysticism, at the Medieval theology
of mercy. He knew that, despite it all, the Lord is merciful.
Finally, the full measure of the biblical truth of the justification
President’s Report, Part 3