wfn.org | LCMS Convention Essay Deals with Church Fellowship and Gospel

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The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Board for Communication Services
1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

61st Regular Convention St. Louis, Mo. July 14-20, 2001

July 19, 2001 #18

Contact: Bruce Kueck (314) 342-5715

Second convention essay deals with church fellowship, Gospel

ST. LOUIS Current-day disagreements between church bodies over the real 
presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper go all the way back to Dr. Martin 
Luther s debate with Ulrich Zwingli at Marburg, Germany, in 1529, according 
to the Rev. Cameron A. MacKenzie, the second essayist to speak before the 
61st Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS).

MacKenzie, professor and chairman of the Department of Historical Theology 
at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., delivered his remarks 
on Tuesday, July 17, before delegates who were gathered at the America s 
Center in downtown St. Louis. The church body will meet in convention 
through July 20.

The Luther-Zwingli debate continues today between The Lutheran Church 
Missouri Synod and other Christian churches, said MacKenzie. And, "we [the 
Missouri Synod] insist on exhibiting the same attitude, not only toward the 
Reformed [churches], but also the Catholics, the Methodists and all the 
rest. ...

"Doctrine belongs to God, not us," said MacKenzie, giving that as the 
reason why "we [the Missouri Synod] teach it, preach it, we live it." Later 
he said, "Correct doctrine is worthless if we do not use it, preach it, 
teach it, use it to hold forth before people their need and their hope, 
their sin and their Savior. &

"&Unfortunately, it is very hard, practically impossible, to avoid being 
labeled arrogant or mean or unloving in an age that has no use for the 
uncomfortable truths of religion. Attitude is everything today and truth is 
nothing."

But, he added, "God saves people through truth, and not through false 
doctrine. &

"& Besides the pure preaching of the Word, as Lutherans we have also 
committed ourselves to the right administration of the Sacraments -- a 
commitment that is the basis for our practice of close (or closed) communion. &

"& The Lord s Supper is a means of grace, a principal vehicle by which God 
conveys to sinners the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of their 
sins."

And, it s second purpose is to "demonstrate the bond of fellowship that 
exists between those who commune together. &

"& Thus, when we Christians eat together the bread that is the body of 
Christ, we all become one body and not just symbolically but mystically, 
spiritually, really the body of Christ. &

"& Fellowship at the Lord s Table, like cooperation in proclaiming the 
Gospel, presumes unity in the Christian faith."

MacKenzie concluded by saying that, "by the grace of God, we too, like 
Luther, will remain faithful to the truth, the truth that matters, the 
truth of God s Word, because it is the truth that saves."

In his reaction to the essay, the Rev. Scott Blazek, pastor of Immanuel 
Lutheran Church, Clovis, N.M., asked the assembled delegates and visitors a 
question:

"If our church body has a love for people and cares about their spiritual 
condition, does not the very Gospel compel us to offer, without compromise 
& the Gospel, the saving truth of Christ, [on which Luther] staked his 
whole ministry, life and hope of salvation? &

"& Today, some print a blurb in the bulletin explaining the Lord s Supper 
in 25 words, more-or-less. That blurb in the bulletin invites anyone who 
might happen to read it who, at a glance, thinks he understands and agrees 
with it to come on down. & This procedure avoids offending anyone! But 
Luther ran the risk of offending Zwingli, rather than offending his Lord 
Jesus. To commune with Zwingli would deny his Savior s presence and the 
Gospel itself. & Those who participate at an altar, share in what that 
altar represents. &

" & There are so many souls who are looking for a church that is solidly 
based on God s inerrant Word. People hunger for the pure Gospel and 
Sacraments. They want a church that knows what it believes and is 
consistent. The LCMS offered that a generation ago. Now we grimace over our 
back-door losses because of our inconsistency of communion practice, rush- 
em-thru pastor's classes and infighting over just who we are. ... What 
would Luther say?"

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