Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1973 · 50th Convention › Page 92
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 92

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

92 THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Wuereas, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod _ has
agreed to work together with the LWF; and

Wuereas, The LWF has taken steps to restructure their
constitution to meet the objections of LCMS; therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod
either join the Lutheran World Federation or voice whatever
objections remain.

University LuTHERAN CHURCH
Lawrence, Kans.

Mike Brondos, President
Elwood May, Secretary

To Deny Petitions for Membership
in Lutheran World Federation

Wuereas, The constitution of the Lutheran World Federa-
tion negates its claim to adherence to the Lutheran Con-
fessions by specifically declaring that this does not bind
member churches to these Confessions: and

Wuereas, The Lutheran State Church of Finland, in mem-
bership with the LWF, changed its confessional paragraph
already in 1870 in such a way that it no longer even officially
confesses the Lutheran doctrine; and

Wuereas, The Church of Sweden, which practices inter-
Communion with the Church of England, and the Church
of Denmark, which practices inter-Communion with the
Church of Scotland, and the Church of Holland, which ad-
mits both Lutherans and Reformed to Holy Communion at
the same altar, are additional examples of LWF members
who are not truly Lutheran in confession and practice; and

Wuereas, The LWF at Helsinki in 1963 clearly demon-
strated that agreement could not be reached among the
member LWF churches even on the fundamental Scriptural
and Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith alone, thereby
rendering LWF subscription to the Lutheran Confessions
essentially null and void; and

Wuereas, Dr. J. W. Behnken. well versed in LWF affairs
and long conversant with confessional conflicts within the
LWF, warned our Synod as late as 1967 that additional prob-
lems exist in the areas of Holy Communion, ordination of
women, the lodge problem, religious unionism, the doctrine
of the church, the problem of ecumenism, etc.; and

WuerEas, Membership in the LWF would involve us in
violations of such specific directions fram God as 1 John
2:19; 2 Cor, 6:14-15: 1 Cor. 1:10; Rom. 16:17; ete.; and

Wuereas, Membership in the LWF would involve us in
church fellowship situations that would be “a stone of
stumbling and a rock of offence” (Is.8:14) to concerned
Christians and communions both without and within the
Lutheran church: and

Wuereas, Membership in the LWF would lay a burden on
the confessional concern of many of our member congre-
gations too heavy to be borne: and

Wuereas, The LCMS would lose its distinctive and effec-
tive confessional Biblical witness from without by identifica-
tion with the LWF, which often gives anything but a true
Lutheran witness to God's Word and God's work; therefore
be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod,
in convention assembled in New Orleans, decline the over-
tures to join the LWF; and be it finally

Resolved. That the LCMS institute and follow through
on such disciplinary actions as may be needed to extricate
from LWF involvement, membership, and/or activities sister
churches in India, the Philippines, Japan, etce., which have
already identified with LWF, contrary to Synod’s official
position against LWF membership.

Messiah Ev, LUTHERAN CHURCH
Sterling, Ill.

Harold Nelson, Secretary
Eldor Mueller, Pastor

2-155
Not to Join Lutheran World Federation

Wuereas, The LWF allows its members to reject such
doctrines of the Christian faith as the resurrection of Christ;
and

Wuereas, The LWF is so theologically divided that it can-
not even agree on the doctrine of justification by faith alone;
therefore be it

Resolved, That we ask The Lutheran Church — Missouri
Synod to decline all overtures asking to join the LWF.

TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH
New Haven, Mo.
Larry Scheer, Secretary

2-156

To Decline to Join Lutheran World
Federation

Wnerras, The official position of the Lutheran church is
stated in Article VII, Par.33, of the Formula of Concord
(Solid Declaration) and makes its own the confession of
Martin Luther:

I reckon them all as belonging together (that is, as Sacramen-
tarians and enthusiasts), for that is what they are who will not
believe that the Lord's bread in the Supper is his true, natural
body, which the godless or Judas receive orally as well as St.
Peter and all the saints. Whoever, I say, will not believe this,
will please let me alone and expect no fellowship from me. This
is final;

and

Wuereas, In the homeland of the Reformation all the
formerly Lutheran territorial churches joined, in 1948, with
the Reformed (Calvinist-Zwinglian) and the United Churches
(those giving equal rights to Real Presence and its denial)
into one single administrative unit, The Evangelical Church
in Germany, and this joint body officially practices indis-
criminate altar and pulpit fellowship. Dr. H. Sassee wrote:

In Eisenach, at the foot of the Wartburg, the Lutheran Church
of Germany was buried in 1948. Loehe's Dream-vision of the
burial of the Lutheran Church by its own pastors had become
a reality [In Statu Confessionis, p. 63|:

and

Wuereas, The late Dr. Hans Asmussen, President of the
Chancery of the Evangelical Church in Germany between
1946 and 1948, wrote the following sobering words from a
deep personal knowledge:

But this is in fact the picture of wide sectors of our Lutheran
Church today: Clergymen read aloud the Christmas story, which
they consider a fairytale. They read aloud the Easter story, to
which they find access only after several reinterpretations. At
the grave, they witness to the resurrection of the dead, which
they consider a myth {Lutheran World, Vol. XIII, No. 2, p. 186];

therefore be it

Resolved, That we at St. John’s request that the LCMS
not join the Lutheran World Federation.

St. Joun’s Ev. LutHeran Cuurcu
Clinton, Iowa
Clifford Lahann, Secretary

2-157

To Decline Memorials to Join LWF
Until CTCR Report Is Studied

Wuereas, The Commission on Theology and Church Re-
lations will report its evaluation of the Fifth Assembly of
the Lutheran World Federation to the New Orleans conven-
tion of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod in 1973:
therefore be it

Resolved, That the Iowa District West memorialize The
Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, assembled in conven-
tion in New Orleans in 1973, to decline any memorials to
join the Lutheran World Federation until mature considera-
tion has been given to the CTCR report.

Iowa Districr WEST
D. E. Weiss, Secretary