Vol. 1 Issue 7 - July 2014

THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH    

What is the Evangelical Lutheran Church? At your Confirmation you made this vow before the altar of the Triune God, “Do you desire to be a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and of this congregation?” You answered, “I do.” Next, the pastor asked you, “Do you hold all the canonical books of the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, and the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, drawn from the Bible, as you have learned to know it from Luther’s Small Catechism, to be the true and correct one?” Again you answered, “I do.”

Then your pastor asked you this question, “Do you also, as a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, intend to continue steadfast in the confession of this Church, and suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?” To which you responded, “I do so intend, with the help of God.” There were questions that preceded and followed these that I have mentioned, but as someone has introduced doubt into people’s minds about the nature of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, it is right that we take a moment to remember these specific vows each of us took.

The answer to the question, “What is the Evangelical Lutheran Church?” is in the words of the confirmation vow. We see in these three questions a progression of thought. First, do you want to belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church? This question assumes that the Confirmand knows what he/she is joining and confessing. The second phrase, “and of this congregation?” also assumes that the congregation is under the umbrella of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

In the second we ask if the confirmand believes the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran church is the correct doctrine. Here is the main point. The Evangelical Lutheran Church is not a church body, an outward fellowship or man-made association. This is evident from the context of this Rite. This Rite is from The Lutheran Agenda, published by Concordia Publishing House around 1941. At this time in history, the Missouri Synod was part of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America. That means this Rite was also used by congregations in the WELS (Wisconsin Synod), the ELS (the little Norwegian Synod). Historical context shows that the Evangelical Lutheran Church is something bigger than one man-made church body. What this plurality of church bodies shows is that being a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church does not necessarily mean being a member of a certain confederation of congregations, i.e. a church body.

So the Evangelical Lutheran Church is not an organization. It is a confession of the Christian Faith. It is a confession of the prophetic and apostolic faith taught in the Holy Scriptures. The question states that the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church is “drawn from the Bible.” It goes without saying that every ‘church’ claims to teach the Bible. Some churches even put it in their name to make a statement about themselves and other area churches. But this is superfluous. Have you ever known a church which would admit, “We do not teach the Bible?” Even the cults like the Latter Day Saints claim to the teach the Bible (plus Doctrine and Covenants, The Pearl of Great Price, and of course, The Book of Mormon). What the confirmand confesses before God and men in this vow is this: that the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church IS the doctrine taught in Holy Scripture.

What is this doctrine? It is that which is drawn from the Bible, “as you have learned to know it from Luther’s Small Catechism.” Do you remember the Six Chief Parts of the Small Catechism? They are called the six chief parts because these parts cover the entirety of the Christian Faith. The Ten Commandments teach the Law and our inability to fulfill God’s will in even the smallest detail since the commandments aren’t so much about the hands but the heart. The Creed teaches us the Gospel, what the Triune God has done for us by creating, redeeming, and justifying us. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us how we are to call upon our Father in heaven in true faith, firmly believing and not doubting. The second triad of Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion teach us the three ways which God interacts with us to give us the blessings Christ won on the cross. The entirety of Christian doctrine can be found in these six chief parts of Luther’s Small Catechism, which is why the Evangelical Lutheran Church still uses it.

But there is more to it than that. Luther’s Small Catechism is part of the Book of Concord. It is the smallest of the confessional documents of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. By assenting the Christian Faith as taught by Luther’s Small Catechism, the confirmand is assenting to the doctrine taught in the entire Book of Concord. We can say this because the doctrine Luther taught in the Small Catechism is the same as the doctrine of the Augsburg Confession, the Apology, the three ecumenical Creeds, and all the other documents contained therein. The doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church IS the whole, complete, unadulterated doctrine and practice of the Book of Concord.

With this is mind, ask yourself, “Where is the Evangelical Lutheran Church then?” Answer: Wherever the doctrine of the Scriptures, as explained in the Book of Concord, is being taught plainly and purely.

What does this mean? It means that at your confirmation you promised to uphold not a church body, not a denomination, not a fellowship or voluntary association. You promised to remain true to the doctrine of the Small Catechism, which is the doctrine of the Book of Concord, which is the pure doctrine of the Holy Scriptures. The true Evangelical Lutheran Church is visible wherever these things are believed, taught, and confessed.

This means that as a church body, the Missouri Synod is not under the umbrella of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. As a national organization, the Missouri Synod does not teach the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures purely or plainly. Many in that church body reject portions of the Book of Concord and thereby reject portions of the heavenly doctrine of Christ. The same can be said of the other synods. The ELDONA is a man-made fellowship but we are interested in the pure and plain teaching of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, whereas the other ‘lutheran’ bodies are not. We are unashamedly and unabashedly Evangelical Lutheran in spite of its unpopularity and seeming irrelevancy. I am not saying that the ELDONA is the Evangelical Lutheran Church. That would be the same lie told in Synodical circles. The diocese is a fellowship of pastors who do teach the Evangelical Lutheran doctrine in totality. That is what makes is so precious to us. Where do you find the Evangelical Lutheran Church? Where the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church is preached purely and plainly.