RESOLUTION 15-03

Reports R1, R11, R12, R14 (CW, pp. 4, 69, 74, 77); President’s Report, Part 2 (TB, pp. 21–31)

WHEREAS, The year 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, when the Triune God used an unlikely monk, Dr. Martin Luther, who questioned how one is forgiven, whether God moves toward the sinner and by His Word declares a sinner holy, justified in Christ, or the sinner moves toward God and gradually becomes transformed by works into a saint with the help 1 of God’s grace; and

WHEREAS, Core to Luther’s complaint was the pastoral care for his parishioners to which he was obligated by his office to preach the Word and to protect the glory that the Father reserves only to His Son, Jesus Christ, to justify sinners in Christ alone (Rom. 4:5); and

WHEREAS, On the very day that he posted the “Ninety-Five Theses”, Martin Luther wrote to Cardinal Albert of Mainz, “The first and only duty of bishops (pastors), however, is to see that the people learn the gospel and the love of Christ. For on no occasion has Christ ordered that indulgences should be preached, but He forcefully commanded the gospel to be preached” (Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, American Edition, 48:47); and

WHEREAS, Luther himself decried the fact that the Lutheran church bore his name, to which he never counseled nor gave consent, for it was not about him but to give glory alone to Jesus Christ and His Word; and

WHEREAS, The heart of the Reformation, then and now, is the care of souls, namely, to bring consolation to troubled consciences by declaration of God’s justifying Word to sinners; and

WHEREAS, Christ Himself currently is working to communicate the love of His Father through His Church to all those who have ears to hear; and

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), Concordia Seminary, Concordia Theological Seminary, Concordia Publishing House, Concordia Historical Institute, and Lutheran Hour Ministries, among others, are offering ample resources to congregations to utilize in their efforts to celebrate and publish the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and

WHEREAS, The LCMS has established a Website that can serve as an entry point for locating these resources, at www.lutheranreformation.org.; therefore be it

Resolved, That the congregations of the LCMS be encouraged to use the vast resources available in their own celebrations of the Reformation, for the consolation of troubled consciences outside and inside the church; and be it further

Resolved, That clergy and church workers promote www.lutheranreformation.org and its resources on their church and school websites, social media, and other catechetical and evangelistic outlets.