THE BOOK OF CONCORD: PART 2—WHY 1580? by Vicar Trevor Flanick
Last month, we took a brief look at the background of our confessions—The Book of Concord—and why they are significant. We discussed mainly what the Lutheran Confessions are, why they are important, how they serve the Church to unite us in doctrine, and how they ground us in Holy Scripture. The Book of Concord is critically important to us as Confessional Lutherans. But the LCMS is one church body among 40 different “sub-denominations” in North America, not to mention well over 250 church groups worldwide that claim the name “Lutheran”.
Despite sharing part of our title with these various entities, our affiliation with the majority of these denominations does not go further than that. In fact, the LCMS only shares “altar and pulpit fellowship” with about 41 sister-church bodies across the globe. Why is this? Don’t all these other “Lutherans” share both our heritage and our confessions? Don’t they use the Book of Concord? Why are there so many differences? While Good Shepherd, as part of the LCMS, and many other Lutheran bodies may have a similar name and claim their roots go back to Martin Luther and the Reformation, often many of these “Lutherans” have abandoned the Confessions wholesale.
For example, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the nation’s largest Lutheran body, claims to be bound by the Lutheran Confessions. In fact, under “ELCA-Teaching” on their synod’s website, they state that:
“The ELCA’s official Confession of Faith identifies the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called the Bible); the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds; and the Lutheran confessional writings in the Book of Concord as the basis for our teaching”.
Ok, that sounds pretty Lutheran to me… so why are we not “in confession” with them? While the ELCA claims to hold to both the Scriptures and the Confessions, their theology demonstrates that this is simply not true. Confessional Lutheranism unabashedly defends the inerrancy of Holy Scripture and that it is the source and norm of our faith, and therefore our lives. The ELCA has rejected the inerrancy of God’s Word, instead “cherry-picking” what doctrines and Scriptures they will retain and which ones they consider to be too outdated or offensive. Rather than accepting the whole truth of the Bible in faith, they offer critical views of God’s Word to justify what they want to believe, rather than what the Bible clearly teaches. Embracing false beliefs and sinful lifestyles such as women’s ordination, the LGBTQ+ movement, open communion, and universal salvation is the logical result of a church untethering themselves from the solid ground of Scripture.
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3–4
Along with that rejection of the Bible’s truth comes the neutering of the Confessions. Since the Confessions are founded in God’s Word, they often speak very clearly against heresies in order to proclaim the truth of the Christian Faith. The LCMS is explicit that “[we] accept the Lutheran Confessions as articulated in the Book of Concord of 1580 because they are drawn from the Word of God, and on that account we regard their doctrinal content as a true and binding exposition of Holy Scripture and as authoritative for all pastors, congregations and other rostered church workers of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.” Confessional Lutherans must make this distinction regarding the Confessions precisely because adulterated translations and misunderstandings of Lutheran doctrine are widespread. It is unsurprising then that the ELCA does not distinguish which version of the Book of Concord serves as the foundational document of their doctrine. While they claim to hold to the same Confessions we do, they mean something entirely different.
This is why we at Good Shepherd (along with all Confessional Lutherans who believe the truth of God’s Word to be the very foundation of our faith) use the precise language of subscription to the 1580 Book of Concord. By going back to the source document, that is, the original rendering of our Lutheran Confessions, we are being clear in our confession. There is no question or possibility of mistaking what we mean when we describe our doctrine. This is why pastors study the original languages of the Bible; it is to equip the Shepherds with the proper tools to identify false teachings and point Christians to the Truth. They get back to the source document. Sadly, moving away from the original texts of both the Bible and the Book of Concord is a great part of why there are many “Lutheran” churches, but many in name only.
The 1580 Book of Concord is both historically and theologically the binding and authoritative document of Lutherans. We cling to this confession because it clings to God’s Word. Those Churches who bind themselves to this document do so for two reasons. Not only to protect ourselves from heresies that have arisen from misappropriations of the Confessions, but primarily to ensure the truth of Jesus Christ is proclaimed to a broken and sinful world which needs the Good News of the Cross. Next time, we will begin to look at the individual documents that make up our Confession.
“…but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles”
1 Corinthians 1:23
News:
October – Pastor Appreciation Month
Take a moment to recognize our faithful pastors, Pastor Moline and Pastor Goodroad, for the ways in which they serve our congregation, pray for us, bring us God’s Word, and administer the Sacraments every week. Consider dropping a note of thanks, expressing your gratitude to them personally, and praying for them.
Picture Directories Have Arrived!
Our brand new picture directories are here! There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex if you would like to receive one. Each directory will cost $8. Directories can be picked up on Sunday, October 13 between services, Wednesday, October 16 before and after service, or in the church office during regular hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday).
October 27 – Reformation Bratfest Celebration
Join us for the Reformation Bratfest Celebration on Sunday, October 27 after the second service. There will be brats, trivia, and the annual kids coloring contest. The elders will serve the brats and hot dogs. Please bring a side dish of your choice or a dessert. A free-will donation will be taken towards the church’s General Fund. Please sign up to attend by Sunday, October 20. Sign-up sheets are in the narthex. Please see the News & Notes for more info.
Lutheran Women in Mission Project
Good Shepherd’s Lutheran Women in Mission group has chosen a project for this fall. We would like to present the seminary students who have previously worshipped at Good Shepherd and are currently students at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne with a VISA gift card. Any contribution would be welcome. If you wish to donate, we would ask you to give any monetary amount of your choosing. There will be donation envelopes available in the narthex. Please make checks payable to LWiM. We would like these donations by November 11th so that we can purchase the gift cards. Please see the News & Notes for more information.
Ushering Help Needed
If you are interested in ushering roughly once a month, please call the church office with your name, contact information, and availability. Church phone number can be found in the News & Notes.
Altar Guild Help Needed
The altar guild needs people to set up and clean up for communion services on Wednesday evenings especially. Please see the News & Notes for contact information to volunteer.