Confessing The Faith In Difficult Times
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Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times A study of how the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod confess the faith differently by Pastor Charles Lehmann Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS) Accident, Maryland prepared for concerned ELCA Lutherans
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 2
The Christian life is often a difficult one. Our Lord says to us in the 15th chapter of Saint John, “"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” The culture of the United States in the 21st century is, in many ways, hostile toward God and what He has revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures. It is tempting for us to take the easy road and to accommodate our teaching to the demands of the culture, but to do so goes against the very nature of what the church is. The word church in Greek is “ecclesia” which literally means the “called out ones.” The Church has been called out of the world to live as aliens in the world confessing the faith to it. The Church does this by proclaiming God's Law in all its fierceness and the Gospel in all of its comfort. Only by doing this can we engage the world in an honest way that is in line with our heritage as Christians. Only when we call sin what it is can we truly hear the words of the Holy Gospel in all of their sweetness. I am very pleased that you have invited me to chat with you this morning. Today my plan is to spend a little bit of time discussing the difference between the ways that the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America view Scripture. From there we will be able to see where the differences that the two church bodies on other issues come from. If you would like to discuss some of the other issues that we raise this morning at another time, I'd be happy to do that. This time is yours. I provide this handout to you for your information and for our discussion. Where we go from here is very much up to you. It is not my intention to talk you into leaving your congregation for the Missouri Synod. Such a decision must be the result of prayer and of conversation with your family and your pastor. I am here because I was asked to come and teach you about the differences between our church bodies. I am a Missouri Synod pastor because I am convinced that what we believe, teach, and confess is what is taught in the Scriptures. But I have many dear friends and family members who are in the ELCA. My house is literally 50 feet from an ELCA congregation. One of my closest friends since moving to Maryland has been an ELCA pastor. I am also acquainted with your bishop. These relationships are important to me, and I do not in any way doubt their Christian faith. At the same time, all of my friends in the ELCA know that I disagree with them on certain doctrinal issues. If any of you would like to become a part of a Missouri Synod congregation, it's important to know just what you'd be confessing once you became a part of that congregation. I am here in love for you and out of concern for your church body. If I can be of service to you in bringing the Gospel to you, I am at your disposal. If you decide to continue to contend for the faith within the ELCA, you will also have my prayers. Thank you for inviting me.
Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Page 3
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Let's begin our discussion by looking at how our two church bodies differ in our view of the Scriptures. You may notice here some of the reasons the ELCA was able to make some of its recent decisions. From the perspective of the LCMS, the ELCA approach to Scripture also sheds light on past actions. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod On Holy Scripture
1. The ELCA “accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life.”1
1. The Scriptures are the inspired Word of God.4 This inspiration extends to all of the actual words of the Scriptures. Because they are God's Words, they are, like God: capable of killing (the Law)5 or giving life (the Gospel)6. They are also true and incapable of error.7
2. The Bible contains “human emotion, testimony, opinion, cultural limitation and bias” and is limited by “culture, customs and world view.” The higher critical method of biblical interpretation is listed as part of the ELCA's “scholarly” approach to the Scriptures.2
2. The authorship of the Scriptures is both divine and human, but God guided the human writing of the Scriptures such that the very words that are written are divine words.8 Because of this, the relevance of the Scriptures are not limited by the culture, customs, or world view of the time in which they were written.9
3. Christians in community may judge Scripture on the 3. The study of Scripture must be guided by what the Scriptures say about themselves. Methods of biblical basis of their understanding of Jesus.3 interpretation such as the higher critical method fail to recognize the divine authorship of the Scriptures and assume that the Scriptures have all of the failings that are common to other sorts of human literature.10
1 The ELCA Confession of Faith, http://www2.elca.org/communication/faith.html, accessed 10/23/2009. 2 The ELCA website states, “At the same time, we also find in the Bible human emotion, testimony, opinion, cultural limitation and bias. ELCA Lutherans recognize that human testimony and writing are related to and often limited by culture, customs and world view.” Also, “ELCA Lutherans judge all Scripture through the window of God’s chief act — that of entering human flesh in Jesus of Nazareth — and they interpret Scripture by listening to the living Jesus in the context of the Church.” From http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/New-or-Returning-to-Church/Dig-Deeper/The-Bible.aspx, accessed 10/23/2009. 3 Ibid. “ELCA Lutherans ask, "Is what we find here consistent with God’s revelation in Jesus?" This is a central question/prescription that provides guidance for acting as moral beings and for calling humankind to justice; it also becomes the authority for our reading Scripture, for it is the Jesus of Scripture, the living Word, who reveals God and judges Scripture, just as he is the judge for all else in life. Therefore, it is a question that ELCA Lutherans find best answered within the life of the Church in community, for this risen Jesus is Lord of the Church.” 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3 Timothy 3:16. Hebrews 4:12, Romans 3:19-20. 1 Peter 1:23-25, Romans 10:17. Titus 1:1-4. 2 Peter 1:21. 1 Peter 1:24-25. A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod (1932), “Of the Holy Scriptures”
Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 4
How do these differences play out in other areas? In the third footnote on the previous page, you can see how some theologians within the ELCA have begun to make distinctions between Scripture and “God's revelation in Jesus.” This approach to Scripture is sometimes called “gospel reductionism.” It argues that the way that we figure out whether something in Scripture is authoritative is by checking to see if it is consistent with the Gospel. Unfortunately, this method will almost always allow someone to pick and choose what biblical teachings that they want to hold to. It is far better to let the Scriptures speak for themselves and allow the Scriptures to teach us how we should read them. The distinction between “God's revelation in Jesus” and Scripture is not one that is made in the Missouri Synod. We believe that all Scripture can be described as “God's revelation in Jesus” because all Scripture, even and sometimes especially the Old Testament, proclaims Jesus as our Savior. The most obvious places where our approaches to Scripture lead to different conclusions in the LCMS and the ELCA are in these areas: The Ordination of Women One of the arguments made in the predecessor bodies of the ELCA for the ordination of women was that since Christ has abolished the distinctions between male and female (Gal. 3:28) the prohibitions in the Scriptures against the ordination of women do not apply (1 Cor.14:33–34,37; 1 Tim.2:11–12; 1 Tim.3:1–2, etc.). Another method that has been used for promoting the ordination of women has been to argue that much of the Scripture contains “human emotion, testimony, opinion, cultural limitation and bias.” (see footnote 2 on the previous page) In each case, an approach to Scripture which allows human beings to be the judge of scripture bears dangerous fruit. I find it very troubling whenever anyone describes how they “judge” scripture (as takes place in footnote 2). We are not given by God to be the judges of Scripture. When I read the Scriptures and find something in them that I have trouble believing, the problem is with me, not with the Scriptures. I find that I constantly must pray the prayer, “Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). Human Sexuality When I as a Missouri Synod pastor look at the recent decisions made by the ELCA regarding the blessing of same gender relationships and ordination of practicing homosexuals, these decisions appear to me to come from an approach toward Scripture that is very similar to the one I described above. If the distinction between male and female is unimportant (Gal. 3:28) in the pastoral office, then it is a very small step to say that it is also unimportant in human sexuality. Thus, Gal. 3:28 can be used to ignore what God says in all the passages of Scripture that prohibit homosexual behavior (Lev.18:22,24; Lev. 20:13; Rom.1:26–27; 1 Cor. 6:9–10; etc).
Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 5
This approach to Scripture allowed an ELCA study document in 2003 to state, “it can be said that the Bible teaches nothing concerning homosexuality.”11 In contrast to this, I was very pleased when I was watching the proceedings of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly online to hear one eloquent layman say something quite different. I do not know if I am remembering his remark verbatim, but it was very close to, “The biblical case for homosexuality has not been made.” My reading of the Scriptures compels me to agree with his assessment. View of Genesis (and the Pentateuch) Because of the ELCA's view of the Scriptures, there is no one way that pastors in the ELCA think of the book of Genesis. Some hold to a literal, historical view. Some consider Genesis 1 through 3 (and the later flood account) to be Hebrew versions of other Near Eastern creation myths. The reason for this diversity is the popularity and accepted use within the ELCA of the higher critical method of interpreting the Scritpures. This method suggests that the first five books of the Bible were written in their current form no earlier than during the reign of Josiah in the 7th century B.C. Up until the 19th century, it was the universal opinion of the Christian Church that the first five books of the Bible were written by Moses in approximately the 15th century B.C. In the 19th century, scholars guessed that since there are varying names for God used in the first five books that they might have been compiled from three or four different sources and put together (redacted) by an editor much, much, later. These scholars suggested that the sources were in conflict with one another and the editor smoothed out the differences (but so well that they wouldn't notice). There are many problems with this hypothesis, but the greatest one is this: none of the source documents exist. No one has ever seen them. Archeology has never uncovered them. All of the actual manuscript evidence that we have supports the idea that we have the Old Testament documents in their original form. So what does this mean for the reading of Genesis? If Genesis is looked at as a whole, it is a very consistent and careful presentation of the earliest history of humanity. Genesis 1 through 3 is not set apart as a mythic or poetic introduction to a later serious historical work. Because of our view of Scripture, the LCMS considers Genesis 1-3 to be every bit as historical as Genesis 4-50. Consequently, the LCMS rejects the theory of biological macroevolution as contrary to what we know from the Scriptures about the world's creation. We believe that God, in six literal days, created the universe by the power of His Word. We believe that Moses' account in Genesis and his later references to it in Exodus and Deuteronomy exclude any other possibility. Further, since the theory of evolution requires millions of generations of death before the existence of man, it disconnects death from sin. On the basis of Romans 5 and 8 we know that death is a consequence of sin and that Jesus came into the world to answer for that sin and to destroy death by death. As a Missouri Synod pastor, I am quite concerned about what can happen to our theology of the cross if a literal reading of Genesis is laid aside. 11 Arland J. Hultgren and Walter F. Taylor Jr., Background Essay On Biblical Texts for “Journey Together Faithfully, Part Two: The Church and Homosexuality,” The Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality (2003), page 17. Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 6
Communion Practice, Fellowship, and Ecumenism One of the most significant areas where the ELCA and the LCMS differ is in the area of communion practice. Our differences begin with how the Lord's Supper is practiced in our congregations, and they also have implications for our relationships with other church bodies. In the Missouri Synod, we only commune those who, in their public confession, agree with us in all areas of doctrine and practice. Two passages of Scripture are particularly important as we consider this sensitive issue. First, Paul writes in Romans 16:17, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” Here Paul cautions Christians from being in fellowship with those who teach or practice anything that is “contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught.” What Paul taught, of course, was the doctrine that is preserved for us in the Scriptures. Second, we have Paul's words regarding the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 10:17-18. “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?” On the basis of these words of Saint Paul, we believe that the Lord's Supper manifests in a visible way what is already true among those who are gathered at the altar, namely that they are unified in their confession of the faith. In the Missouri Synod we believe that if you approach the altar of a congregation, you are saying that you believe everything that is taught at that altar and from its pulpit. If you were to receive communion from that altar while you differed from it in your confession of the Christian faith, we believe that you would be “participating” in the altar in a deceptive way. For this reason, it is against Missouri Synod practice for members of our congregations to commune at ELCA altars or for members of ELCA congregations to commune at our altars. We are not saying in this that any particular member of an ELCA congregation is not a Christian. Rather, we are acknowledging the sad divisions that exist between us. As an LCMS pastor who has to administer our practice of closed communion I can tell you that I fervently wish that the divisions that make this practice necessary did not exist. For me, it is a painful practice, but a necessary one. The Missouri Synod seeks to have complete agreement in doctrine and practice before it declares fellowship with another church body. We have, with joy, done this with a number of church bodies in the past few years, but, sadly, the decisions this summer by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly to establish full communion with the United Methodist Church and its decision to affirm homosexual relationships have made the separation between us greater than it was before. Because of our position on fellowship in the Lord's Supper, the Missouri Synod has not been as involved in the ecumenical movement as the ELCA. We do, however, continue to engage in conversation with the ELCA, the Roman Church, and several other church bodies. Lodge Membership Because of the fact that several lodges require their members to make confessions of faith that are contrary to what the Scriptures teach regarding the way of salvation, the Missouri Synod has always Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 7
prohibited members of its congregations from holding membership in these lodges (in particular: freemasonry, the Moose, the Elks, and the Eagles). While the ELCA has a similar approach to this issue, the prohibition in the ELCA only extends to the clergy. The Bylaws of the ELCA state: “No person who belongs to any organization other than the Church which claims to possess in its teachings and ceremonies that which the Lord has given solely to the Church shall be ordained or otherwise received into the ministry of this church, nor shall any person so ordained or otherwise received by this church be retained in its ministry who subsequently joins such an organization. Violation of this rule shall make such minister subject to discipline.” While we in the Missouri Synod are pleased that the ELCA has this as its policy for clergy, lodge membership is occasionally an issue that must be addressed when ELCA laity wish to join LCMS congregations. If you would like more information on the objections the LCMS has to the theology of these groups, there are brief studies available at the following web site: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2150 Concluding Remarks You and the other Christians in the ELCA are my brothers and sisters in Christ. As I have watched your church body's leadership move further and further away from what the Scriptures teach regarding sexuality, I have been personally grieved. I want you to be able to hear the Word of God proclaimed faithfully. I want your congregations to have the opportunity to call pastors who are committed to the Word of God. I am here at your invitation as your servant. I am at your disposal 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Please do not hesitate to call or write. Respectfully submitted, The Reverend Charles R. Lehmann Saint John's Lutheran Church 1065 Cove Road Accident, MD 21520
Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 2
The Christian life is often a difficult one. Our Lord says to us in the 15th chapter of Saint John, “"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” The culture of the United States in the 21st century is, in many ways, hostile toward God and what He has revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures. It is tempting for us to take the easy road and to accommodate our teaching to the demands of the culture, but to do so goes against the very nature of what the church is. The word church in Greek is “ecclesia” which literally means the “called out ones.” The Church has been called out of the world to live as aliens in the world confessing the faith to it. The Church does this by proclaiming God's Law in all its fierceness and the Gospel in all of its comfort. Only by doing this can we engage the world in an honest way that is in line with our heritage as Christians. Only when we call sin what it is can we truly hear the words of the Holy Gospel in all of their sweetness. I am very pleased that you have invited me to chat with you this morning. Today my plan is to spend a little bit of time discussing the difference between the ways that the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America view Scripture. From there we will be able to see where the differences that the two church bodies on other issues come from. If you would like to discuss some of the other issues that we raise this morning at another time, I'd be happy to do that. This time is yours. I provide this handout to you for your information and for our discussion. Where we go from here is very much up to you. It is not my intention to talk you into leaving your congregation for the Missouri Synod. Such a decision must be the result of prayer and of conversation with your family and your pastor. I am here because I was asked to come and teach you about the differences between our church bodies. I am a Missouri Synod pastor because I am convinced that what we believe, teach, and confess is what is taught in the Scriptures. But I have many dear friends and family members who are in the ELCA. My house is literally 50 feet from an ELCA congregation. One of my closest friends since moving to Maryland has been an ELCA pastor. I am also acquainted with your bishop. These relationships are important to me, and I do not in any way doubt their Christian faith. At the same time, all of my friends in the ELCA know that I disagree with them on certain doctrinal issues. If any of you would like to become a part of a Missouri Synod congregation, it's important to know just what you'd be confessing once you became a part of that congregation. I am here in love for you and out of concern for your church body. If I can be of service to you in bringing the Gospel to you, I am at your disposal. If you decide to continue to contend for the faith within the ELCA, you will also have my prayers. Thank you for inviting me.
Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Page 3
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Let's begin our discussion by looking at how our two church bodies differ in our view of the Scriptures. You may notice here some of the reasons the ELCA was able to make some of its recent decisions. From the perspective of the LCMS, the ELCA approach to Scripture also sheds light on past actions. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod On Holy Scripture
1. The ELCA “accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life.”1
1. The Scriptures are the inspired Word of God.4 This inspiration extends to all of the actual words of the Scriptures. Because they are God's Words, they are, like God: capable of killing (the Law)5 or giving life (the Gospel)6. They are also true and incapable of error.7
2. The Bible contains “human emotion, testimony, opinion, cultural limitation and bias” and is limited by “culture, customs and world view.” The higher critical method of biblical interpretation is listed as part of the ELCA's “scholarly” approach to the Scriptures.2
2. The authorship of the Scriptures is both divine and human, but God guided the human writing of the Scriptures such that the very words that are written are divine words.8 Because of this, the relevance of the Scriptures are not limited by the culture, customs, or world view of the time in which they were written.9
3. Christians in community may judge Scripture on the 3. The study of Scripture must be guided by what the Scriptures say about themselves. Methods of biblical basis of their understanding of Jesus.3 interpretation such as the higher critical method fail to recognize the divine authorship of the Scriptures and assume that the Scriptures have all of the failings that are common to other sorts of human literature.10
1 The ELCA Confession of Faith, http://www2.elca.org/communication/faith.html, accessed 10/23/2009. 2 The ELCA website states, “At the same time, we also find in the Bible human emotion, testimony, opinion, cultural limitation and bias. ELCA Lutherans recognize that human testimony and writing are related to and often limited by culture, customs and world view.” Also, “ELCA Lutherans judge all Scripture through the window of God’s chief act — that of entering human flesh in Jesus of Nazareth — and they interpret Scripture by listening to the living Jesus in the context of the Church.” From http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/New-or-Returning-to-Church/Dig-Deeper/The-Bible.aspx, accessed 10/23/2009. 3 Ibid. “ELCA Lutherans ask, "Is what we find here consistent with God’s revelation in Jesus?" This is a central question/prescription that provides guidance for acting as moral beings and for calling humankind to justice; it also becomes the authority for our reading Scripture, for it is the Jesus of Scripture, the living Word, who reveals God and judges Scripture, just as he is the judge for all else in life. Therefore, it is a question that ELCA Lutherans find best answered within the life of the Church in community, for this risen Jesus is Lord of the Church.” 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3 Timothy 3:16. Hebrews 4:12, Romans 3:19-20. 1 Peter 1:23-25, Romans 10:17. Titus 1:1-4. 2 Peter 1:21. 1 Peter 1:24-25. A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod (1932), “Of the Holy Scriptures”
Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 4
How do these differences play out in other areas? In the third footnote on the previous page, you can see how some theologians within the ELCA have begun to make distinctions between Scripture and “God's revelation in Jesus.” This approach to Scripture is sometimes called “gospel reductionism.” It argues that the way that we figure out whether something in Scripture is authoritative is by checking to see if it is consistent with the Gospel. Unfortunately, this method will almost always allow someone to pick and choose what biblical teachings that they want to hold to. It is far better to let the Scriptures speak for themselves and allow the Scriptures to teach us how we should read them. The distinction between “God's revelation in Jesus” and Scripture is not one that is made in the Missouri Synod. We believe that all Scripture can be described as “God's revelation in Jesus” because all Scripture, even and sometimes especially the Old Testament, proclaims Jesus as our Savior. The most obvious places where our approaches to Scripture lead to different conclusions in the LCMS and the ELCA are in these areas: The Ordination of Women One of the arguments made in the predecessor bodies of the ELCA for the ordination of women was that since Christ has abolished the distinctions between male and female (Gal. 3:28) the prohibitions in the Scriptures against the ordination of women do not apply (1 Cor.14:33–34,37; 1 Tim.2:11–12; 1 Tim.3:1–2, etc.). Another method that has been used for promoting the ordination of women has been to argue that much of the Scripture contains “human emotion, testimony, opinion, cultural limitation and bias.” (see footnote 2 on the previous page) In each case, an approach to Scripture which allows human beings to be the judge of scripture bears dangerous fruit. I find it very troubling whenever anyone describes how they “judge” scripture (as takes place in footnote 2). We are not given by God to be the judges of Scripture. When I read the Scriptures and find something in them that I have trouble believing, the problem is with me, not with the Scriptures. I find that I constantly must pray the prayer, “Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). Human Sexuality When I as a Missouri Synod pastor look at the recent decisions made by the ELCA regarding the blessing of same gender relationships and ordination of practicing homosexuals, these decisions appear to me to come from an approach toward Scripture that is very similar to the one I described above. If the distinction between male and female is unimportant (Gal. 3:28) in the pastoral office, then it is a very small step to say that it is also unimportant in human sexuality. Thus, Gal. 3:28 can be used to ignore what God says in all the passages of Scripture that prohibit homosexual behavior (Lev.18:22,24; Lev. 20:13; Rom.1:26–27; 1 Cor. 6:9–10; etc).
Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 5
This approach to Scripture allowed an ELCA study document in 2003 to state, “it can be said that the Bible teaches nothing concerning homosexuality.”11 In contrast to this, I was very pleased when I was watching the proceedings of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly online to hear one eloquent layman say something quite different. I do not know if I am remembering his remark verbatim, but it was very close to, “The biblical case for homosexuality has not been made.” My reading of the Scriptures compels me to agree with his assessment. View of Genesis (and the Pentateuch) Because of the ELCA's view of the Scriptures, there is no one way that pastors in the ELCA think of the book of Genesis. Some hold to a literal, historical view. Some consider Genesis 1 through 3 (and the later flood account) to be Hebrew versions of other Near Eastern creation myths. The reason for this diversity is the popularity and accepted use within the ELCA of the higher critical method of interpreting the Scritpures. This method suggests that the first five books of the Bible were written in their current form no earlier than during the reign of Josiah in the 7th century B.C. Up until the 19th century, it was the universal opinion of the Christian Church that the first five books of the Bible were written by Moses in approximately the 15th century B.C. In the 19th century, scholars guessed that since there are varying names for God used in the first five books that they might have been compiled from three or four different sources and put together (redacted) by an editor much, much, later. These scholars suggested that the sources were in conflict with one another and the editor smoothed out the differences (but so well that they wouldn't notice). There are many problems with this hypothesis, but the greatest one is this: none of the source documents exist. No one has ever seen them. Archeology has never uncovered them. All of the actual manuscript evidence that we have supports the idea that we have the Old Testament documents in their original form. So what does this mean for the reading of Genesis? If Genesis is looked at as a whole, it is a very consistent and careful presentation of the earliest history of humanity. Genesis 1 through 3 is not set apart as a mythic or poetic introduction to a later serious historical work. Because of our view of Scripture, the LCMS considers Genesis 1-3 to be every bit as historical as Genesis 4-50. Consequently, the LCMS rejects the theory of biological macroevolution as contrary to what we know from the Scriptures about the world's creation. We believe that God, in six literal days, created the universe by the power of His Word. We believe that Moses' account in Genesis and his later references to it in Exodus and Deuteronomy exclude any other possibility. Further, since the theory of evolution requires millions of generations of death before the existence of man, it disconnects death from sin. On the basis of Romans 5 and 8 we know that death is a consequence of sin and that Jesus came into the world to answer for that sin and to destroy death by death. As a Missouri Synod pastor, I am quite concerned about what can happen to our theology of the cross if a literal reading of Genesis is laid aside. 11 Arland J. Hultgren and Walter F. Taylor Jr., Background Essay On Biblical Texts for “Journey Together Faithfully, Part Two: The Church and Homosexuality,” The Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality (2003), page 17. Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 6
Communion Practice, Fellowship, and Ecumenism One of the most significant areas where the ELCA and the LCMS differ is in the area of communion practice. Our differences begin with how the Lord's Supper is practiced in our congregations, and they also have implications for our relationships with other church bodies. In the Missouri Synod, we only commune those who, in their public confession, agree with us in all areas of doctrine and practice. Two passages of Scripture are particularly important as we consider this sensitive issue. First, Paul writes in Romans 16:17, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” Here Paul cautions Christians from being in fellowship with those who teach or practice anything that is “contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught.” What Paul taught, of course, was the doctrine that is preserved for us in the Scriptures. Second, we have Paul's words regarding the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 10:17-18. “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?” On the basis of these words of Saint Paul, we believe that the Lord's Supper manifests in a visible way what is already true among those who are gathered at the altar, namely that they are unified in their confession of the faith. In the Missouri Synod we believe that if you approach the altar of a congregation, you are saying that you believe everything that is taught at that altar and from its pulpit. If you were to receive communion from that altar while you differed from it in your confession of the Christian faith, we believe that you would be “participating” in the altar in a deceptive way. For this reason, it is against Missouri Synod practice for members of our congregations to commune at ELCA altars or for members of ELCA congregations to commune at our altars. We are not saying in this that any particular member of an ELCA congregation is not a Christian. Rather, we are acknowledging the sad divisions that exist between us. As an LCMS pastor who has to administer our practice of closed communion I can tell you that I fervently wish that the divisions that make this practice necessary did not exist. For me, it is a painful practice, but a necessary one. The Missouri Synod seeks to have complete agreement in doctrine and practice before it declares fellowship with another church body. We have, with joy, done this with a number of church bodies in the past few years, but, sadly, the decisions this summer by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly to establish full communion with the United Methodist Church and its decision to affirm homosexual relationships have made the separation between us greater than it was before. Because of our position on fellowship in the Lord's Supper, the Missouri Synod has not been as involved in the ecumenical movement as the ELCA. We do, however, continue to engage in conversation with the ELCA, the Roman Church, and several other church bodies. Lodge Membership Because of the fact that several lodges require their members to make confessions of faith that are contrary to what the Scriptures teach regarding the way of salvation, the Missouri Synod has always Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Confessing the Faith in Difficult Times
Page 7
prohibited members of its congregations from holding membership in these lodges (in particular: freemasonry, the Moose, the Elks, and the Eagles). While the ELCA has a similar approach to this issue, the prohibition in the ELCA only extends to the clergy. The Bylaws of the ELCA state: “No person who belongs to any organization other than the Church which claims to possess in its teachings and ceremonies that which the Lord has given solely to the Church shall be ordained or otherwise received into the ministry of this church, nor shall any person so ordained or otherwise received by this church be retained in its ministry who subsequently joins such an organization. Violation of this rule shall make such minister subject to discipline.” While we in the Missouri Synod are pleased that the ELCA has this as its policy for clergy, lodge membership is occasionally an issue that must be addressed when ELCA laity wish to join LCMS congregations. If you would like more information on the objections the LCMS has to the theology of these groups, there are brief studies available at the following web site: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2150 Concluding Remarks You and the other Christians in the ELCA are my brothers and sisters in Christ. As I have watched your church body's leadership move further and further away from what the Scriptures teach regarding sexuality, I have been personally grieved. I want you to be able to hear the Word of God proclaimed faithfully. I want your congregations to have the opportunity to call pastors who are committed to the Word of God. I am here at your invitation as your servant. I am at your disposal 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Please do not hesitate to call or write. Respectfully submitted, The Reverend Charles R. Lehmann Saint John's Lutheran Church 1065 Cove Road Accident, MD 21520
Rev. Charles Lehmann
Saint John's Lutheran Church (LCMS)
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