LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1979, Page 117

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

ea

:
:
|

RESOLUTIONS 117

Your Hand, O Lord, in Days of Old 431
Your Heart, O God, Is Grieved 96
Your Table I Approach 310
Your Word, O Lord, Is Gentle Dew 232
Yours Forever, God of Love 338

Action: Adopted (3).

(The committee substituted “NIV” for “from LBW, some in
revised form” in Point 15 and added the reference to the 1943
version in Point 18. Considerable discussion followed. An
amendment to commend both the LBW and LW to congre-
gations was declared out of order on the grounds that the
Dallas convention had called for the adoption of an official
hymnal. When the amendment was revised to call for two
official hymnals, this was declared to be a substitute reso-
lution, one which the delegates declined to consider. After 30
minutes of debate the automatic call of the question was
decided affirmatively by the required 2/3 vote. The resolution
was then adopted after it had been stated by way of infor-
mation that the resolution did not refer to occasional services
that might be published separately and that suggestions for
the addition of hymns could still be received and considered by
the commission.)

To State Position on Abortion
RESOLUTION 3-02A
Overtures 3-20A—3-23 (CW, pp. 97—99)

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
throughout its history has opposed abortion and since
1971 has spoken in convention to condemn “willful
abortion as contrary to the will of God”; and

WHEREAS, We as members of Christian congrega-
tions have the obligation to protest this heinous crime
against the will of God legally sanctioned in the United
States and other lands; and

WHEREAS, The practice of abortion, its promotion,
and legal acceptance are destructive of the moral con-
sciousness and character of the people of any nation;
therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod in convention urgently call upon Christians—

1. To hold firmly to the clear Biblical truths that (a)
the living but unborn are persons in the sight of God
from the time of conception (J ob 10:9-11; Ps. 51:5; 139:13-
17; Jer. 1:5; Luke 1:41-44); (b) as persons the unborn
stand under the full protection of God’s own prohibition
against murder (Gen. 9:6; Ex. 20:13; Num. 35:33; Acts
7:19; 1 John 3:15); and (c) since abortion takes a human
life, abortion is not a moral option, except as a tragically
unavoidable byproduct of medical procedures neces-
sary to prevent the death of another human being, viz.,
the mother; and

2. Tospeak and act as responsible citizens on behalf
of the living but unborn in the civic and political arena
to secure for these defenseless persons due protection
under the law; and

3. To offer as an alternative to abortion supportive
understanding, compassion, and help to the expectant
parent(s) and family, and to foster concern for un-
wanted babies, encouraging Lutheran agencies and
families to open hearts and homes to their need for life
in a family; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod earnestly encourage its
pastors, teachers, officers, and boards—

1. To warn publicly and privately (Prov. 31:8-9)
against the sin of abortion;

2. Toinstruct the community of God that abortion is
not in the realm of Christian liberty, private choice,
personal opinion, or political preference;

3. To nurture a deep reverence and gratitude for
God’s gracious gift of human life;

4. To oppose in a responsible way attitudes and
policies in congregations, schools, hospitals, Lutheran
social service agencies, and other institutions within
their sphere of influence and work which suggest that
abortion is a matter of personal choice;

5. To support the efforts of responsible pro-life
groups in their communities, e.g., “Lutherans for Life”
(CTCR Report, CW, p. 74);

6. To promote clear instruction of Christian morality
in homes, schools, and churches of the Synod, showing
the blessings and safeguards inherent in God’s will for
sexual chastity before marriage and faithfulness in
marriage;

7. To teach within our Lutheran schools and
churches the biological, social, and parental functions
of childbearing; and

8. To support the efforts to secure the human life
amendment to the United States Constitution.

Action: Adopted as amended (3).

(Three amendments were approved: the addition of the
reference to Proverbs in Point 1 of the second resolve, and
Points 7 and 8. The word “Lutheran” was inserted in Point 7 by
common consent. In Session 7 the convention changed the
order of words as given above in Point 7. An amendment
referring to rape at the end of Point 1 of the first resolve was
declined.)

To Continue “Fellowship in Protest”
with ALC

RESOLUTION 3-03

Report 3-01, II; App. 3-01B, App. 3-01C (CW, pp.
75—77, 81—82, 84—87); Overtures 3-71A—3-89B,
3-94A—F (CW, pp. 109—117)

Preamble

It is the will of our God that the members of His
church be one in faith and walk together in love,
striving always to express the unity that is theirs in
Christ while holding faithfully to the doctrine commit-
ted to them. The apostle Paul has written: ‘““Now I
beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and that there
be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same
judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10). In Ephesians he declares that
God’s people should ‘“[endeavor] to keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:3). And elsewhere he
exhorts Titus to “{hold] fast the faithful Word as he hath
been taught” (Titus 1:9).