RESOLUTION 15-02
President’s Report, Part 2 (TB, pp. 21–31)
WHEREAS, A rare moment of history is upon the church, as she marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in the year 2017, providing an opportune time to publicize the Christian doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ through Scripture alone as opposed to the doctrine of works, for only the pure Gospel consoles guilty consciences; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther on the very day he posted the 95 Theses wrote: “The first and only duty of the bishops, however, is to see that the people learn the gospel and the love of Christ” (American Edition 48:46); and
WHEREAS,, Dr. Martin Luther, commenting on Psalm 117:1, “Praise the LORD, all you nations,” foresees God’s intent for the conversion of the Gentiles, for how can the heathen praise God unless they come to faith, and writes: “Wherever there are heathen—or a country or a city—there the Gospel will penetrate and will convert some to the kingdom of Christ. Regardless of whether all people believe it, still Christ rules wherever there are people; He preserves His Word, His Baptism and Sacrament, despite all devils and men. For the Gospel must come to the whole world…” (American Edition 14:12–13); and
WHEREAS, Three church bodies—The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America—collaborated with the help of funds from Thrivent Financial to fund the production of a two-hour documentary on Luther for Public Broadcasting Service, to be shown Fall 2017 and distributed through CDs; and
WHEREAS, The Luther documentary clearly confesses the “first and chief article…(that) ‘All have sinned,’ and ‘they are now justified without merit by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…by his blood’” (Rom. 3[23−25]) (Smalcald Articles II, par. 1); therefore be it
Resolved, That the congregations of the LCMS take this unique opportunity to publicize the ongoing significance of the Reformation by not only showing the Luther documentary for themselves but also publicizing it to their communities so that many might hear the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and some may have their consciences consoled.
