LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 456

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456

B The

CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT AND LUTHERAN THEOLOGY

Christians will remember, of course, that the Scriptures record
numerous examples of miraculous healings in both the Old and
the New Testaments. Ic is clear from the gospels that healing the
sick was an important and integral part of the ministry of Jesus.
and when the Savior sent forth His twelve apostles inco the cities
of Galilee, He gave them specific instructions chat they were
to preach the kingdom of God and to heal” ‘Luke 9.2), Soon
thereafter, when He appointed seventy others and sent them
ahead of Him, He told them also to “heal the sick and say
co them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’ «Luke 10
8-9: According to the Book of Acts the miracles of healing in
the early church continued at least fur a time even after the Savior’s
ascension into heaven

It wall also be granted that God can choose to pertorm mighty
works sm and through His church even today. Miracles of healing
are not inherently impossible or absurd. The church must not
deny che supernatural nor rejece the possibility that God can
intervene in the course of natural things as He did in apastolic
tumes

There are, however, a number of additional faces that must be
taken into consideration as we explore the Scriptures in this
regard

a As we noced earlier, the disciples performed miracles of
healing in response to a specthc command of Jesus that they
should both preach and heal. When the Savior gave His final
Instructions prior to His ascension to the right hand of God,
He said: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
bapnzing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit. teaching them to observe all chat [ have
commanded you. and lo, | am with you always, co the close
of the age.” (Matt 2819-20)

Neither this Great Commission nor our Lord's other instruc:
tons mention miraculous healing as pare of the function of the
church down through the ages unal the return of Christ. To
be sure. God may sell give His gifts of healing to the church
today. Moreover, the church will continue to engage in healing
ministries as part of its effort to show love and compassion
to all men. Buc the church’s primary responsibility is to seek
the salvation of the sinner through che Gospel of Jesus Christ
Even the healing miracles pertormed by the apostles after
Pentecose were not che resule of an explicit directive of Jesus.
Their purpose was not only to gain a hearing for the Gospel
at a ume when the church was being established but to dem-
onscrate that the new age had dawned in Jesus Christ, In the
Book of Acts the patcern is that miraculous healings decreased
in number as time passed, while the proclamation of the Gos:
pel came more and more into the foreground of apostohe
acuvicy

at

Primary Lisues

As the church seeks to resolve the tensions that have arisen within
its midst because of the charismatic movement, it is essential that the
primary issues be clearly defined and understood. It should be noted that
the basic question is not whether the Holy Spirit bestows marvelous gitts
on His church also in the present day. Nor 1s there disagreement regarding
the fact that the church should earnestly and fervently petinon Almighty
God to give us a full measure of His Spirit. What, chen, are the issues’
It cannot be denied that such questions as the following are very impor-
tant, particularly for those involved in the charismatic movement, and
that they mene our caretul study

a Does Holy Scripture ceach that bapusm in che Holy Spirie
is a second encounter with the Spirit, separate and distinct
from conversion and bapusm tn the name of Jesus’

b Is baptism in che Holy Spirit an experience that the Christian
can have only if he meets certain preconditions, such as a con-
scientious desire for Spint baptism, total surrender to Christ
as Lord, a special degree of obedience, or fervent prayer for
this gift?

¢ Does Holy Scripture clearly and unmistakably designate
speaking in tongues as the usual manifestation of baptism in
the Spirit’

d. Does the Bible contain the specihe promise that the same
extraordinary charismatic gifts that were given to the apostolic
church will be granted to God's people today?

Important as such questions are for the consideration of the charismatic
movement, we believe that the primary issues trom the perspecove of
Lutheran theology are the tollowing

1

The Centrality of the Gospel. Lutherans have always agreed chat
the central and most important teaching of Scripeure is the Gospel.
which brings the good news that the sinner is jusahed by grace.
for Chrise’s sake. through faith. This 1s the doctrine by which the
Christian church stands or fails It ts che article of faith in which
all the sacred truths of Scripture converge. Neo-Pentecostal
theology. with its special emphasis on baptism in the Holy Spirit
as a second major experience in the Christian's life, someames
tends to be more Spire-centered than Christ-centered ‘in practice,
if not in theory: This in turn lends itself to an understanding
of the person and work of Christ that obscures His glory and
benents.

The Power and Suffisency of the Means of Grace. Lutherans have
always believed that through the Word and sacraments the Holy
Spirit bestows on the believer 2// the blessings and spiritual gifts
that are ours in Christ. The view that God gives His Holy Spiric
apart from the “external word” 1s reyected by the Contessions as
enthusiasm” Neo-Pentecostal theology, wich its emphasis on

BA

b. Ir needs to be remembered that God wants Christians co
concern themselves with the physical needs of their fellow.
men. The Bible gives many directives in that regard, and the
church seeks to carry out the will of ies Lord by praying ter-
vently for healing in mes of sickness and by using the earthly
means that God in His goodness has provided for the healing
of the physically and mentally distressed. It gratefully acknowl-
edges as a blessing trom God the healing minisery performed
by doctors, nurses. and others who are skilled in the care and
treatment of disease. The Chrisnan will also seek personally
ro alleviate the sufferings and quiec the pains of his tellowmen
to the extent that this is possible

¢. The child of God is grateful to his Lord when he is spared
physical distress and affliction, but he also recognizes chat
illness and muistortune in general do not represent man’s
greatest evil, nor is physical health and prosperity man's
greatest good. Many a believer has learned that there can be
a victorious faith in Christ when there is no bodily healing
and a glorious witness to the grace of God in the midse of sut-
fering. Therefore, while che Christian prays for healing and
earnestly hopes for recovery, he nevertheless submits patiently
to the will of God since he knows that all things work together
for good to them that love God

d. The child of God ts also aware that he is not yet in the realm

of glory where sin and pain will disappear. Instead, he recog-
nizes that according to the good and gracious will of God he
is in a world where sin, sickness, and death are stull very eve
dent. He knows that the kingdom of God has been inaugurated,
and in this he rejoices, bur the final victory has not yee been
consummated. Christ has atoned for sin, but its earthly con-
sequences still remain. For the Christian these are chastenings.
and he takes seriously che Biblical exhortation. "My son, do
not regard lightly che disciphne of the Lord, nor lose courage
when you aré punished by Him. For the Lord disciplines him
whom He loves and chastises every son whom He receives
tHeb. 12:5-6). We do not assume that it is the will of God thac
even in this life we must be free of all anguish and physical
distress, for pain and suffering can also be a blessing trom God
‘Ct Rom. 8:28)

e. The Christian does not expect to manipulate or control God.

even with his prayers. He would hesitate to have in his own
hands the power of lite and death. With the psalmist he con-
fesses) “Thou art my God. My umes are in Thy hand’ 1 Ps 31
14-15), In both joy and sorrow, the Christian knows that God
does not abdicate. While He graciously invites us to seek
His face in conndent prayer, He and His wall remain soverengn
The child of God prays contdentdy and persistently hur with
the provision “Lord. if itis Thy will.

a?

the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a new source of power and
assurance for the Christian and with its claim that God com-
municates directly with believers through prophecy, visions,
tongues, or other means, easily leads to a practical Git nor cheo-
retical) diminution of the significance of the means of grace

The Unity of the Church. Lutherans contess that all who believe
in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are one in Christ and one with
each other. We therefore reject improper distincuons between
members of the one holy Chrisnan church ict. Gal. 3:28). More-
over, Christians are “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). Although che charismatic move-
ment is sometimes described by its proponents as fostering the
unity of the church through the baptism of the Spirit, the tact
remains that neo-Pentecoscal theology, with its disanction be-
tween Spirit-bapuzed Chriscians and other Chrisuans, tends to
create disharmony and disunity within the Christian church.

The Nature of Spiritual Gifts, Lutheran theology has stressed the
importance of such fruits of the Spirit as love, joy. peace. patience,
and kindness rather than extraordinary charismatic gifts. More-
over, it has emphasized that all fruics and gitts of the Sprrit are
given by grace alone. It has not understood the Scriptures to say
that Chrisuans are to expect extraordinary charismatic gifts in
all ages of history, nor has it taught that speaking in tongues 1s
the usual manifestaion of the Holy Spirit. Neo-Pentecostal
theology. with its claim that extraordinary charismatic gifts are
the normal expectation of the church in every age. places greater
Importance on such gifts than the Scriptures do. Moreover,
certain neo-Pentecostal accents sometimes give the erroneous
impression that Gods gitts are at least partially dependent on
human efforts

C. Recommendations
1. Study the Scriptures In tacing the 1ssues raised by the charismatic

movement within the Lutheran Church, we should earnestly
seek the edification and spiritual welfare of the whole body of
Christ. To that end, pastors and laymen should diligently and
prayertully seudy God's Word and its exposinon in the Lutheran
Confessions. Only by means of the Word and the Spirit will we
be able to discern between what is true and what is talse, what 15
God's will and what is man’s. Subjective experience and human
emotions are never sate guides in spiritual matters Where God s
Word speaks. Christians will submit in all humility and in the
tear of God

Our studies muse deal nor only with those passages in Mark, Acts,
and First Corinthians chat speak of the extraordinary gifts of the
Spirit. but with those activities of the Holy Spine that are de-
scribed in other books of the New Testament such as the Gospel
of John and the epistles of Paul to the Romans. Galanans, Ephe-
sians, and Colossians