03/26/2008
FOUNDATION OF SCRIPTURE GUIDES ELCA
DECISIONS What
does the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America believe about the Bible? We as members of
the ELCA confess the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With the whole Church, we
in the ELCA also confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the Gospel as the power of
God for the salvation of all who believe, as Scripture faithfully teaches. As
stated in the ELCA constitution on the basis of Scripture, "Jesus Christ is the Word
of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and
resurrection God fashions a new creation." The
members of the ELCA also understand that the "proclamation of God's message to us as
both Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy through word and
deed, beginning with the Word in creation, continuing in the history of Israel, and
centering in all its fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ," as the ELCA's
constitution declares. "The
canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God. Inspired
by God's Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God's revelation
centering in Jesus Christ. Through them, God's Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain
Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world." In
testimony to this understanding as grounded in Scripture, 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." Likewise,
"the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the faith of
this church" and the Unaltered Augsburg Confession of 1530 are embraced "as a
true witness to the Gospel, acknowledging as one with it in faith and doctrine all
churches that likewise accept the teachings of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession." In
addition, the ELCA "accepts the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord,
[including the Small and Large Catechisms of Martin Luther]..., as further valid
interpretations of the faith of the Church." |
CALLED AND SENT TO BEAR WITNESS As
we declare in our church's constitution, we understand that, as the people of God
empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are "called and sent to bear witness to God's
creative, redeeming, and sanctifying activity in the world." We
realize, therefore, that our church is not a casual association of diverse interests. We
are united by the Gospel and summoned to strategic work together. To
participate in the mission that God has given us, we declare that our congregations,
synods, and churchwide ministries are to: 1. Proclaim God's saving Gospel of justification
by grace for Christ's sake through faith
alone; 2. Carry out Christ's Great Commission by
reaching out to all people to bring them to
faith; 3. Worship God through Word and Sacrament and
through lives of prayer, praise,
thanksgiving, witness, and service; 4. Nurture members in the Word of God for
growth in faith, hope, and love, so that our daily life is understood as the primary arena
of our Christian calling; 5. Serve in response to God's love to meet human
needs; and 6. Manifest the unity that God has given. This
six-point statement of purpose is huge in scope. On the threshold of the 21 st century and
third millennium of the Christian era, it points us to the crucial tasks that we have as
disciples of Jesus. We
know that we do not fulfill this commitment alone. We join together with the other members
of our congregations and with our sisters and brothers in Christ throughout the whole
Church. In so doing, we give thanks to God for the mission set before us. We also pray for
the strength, wisdom, compassion, trust, hope, and generosity that we need to be faithful
disciples. In
the Lord's Prayer, we plead, "Your will be done, on earth as in heaven." As
Martin Luther wrote in the Small Catechism, "God's good and gracious will comes about
without prayer, but we ask ...that it may also come about in and among us." |