Confessionalism Contextualized: Lutheran Identity Across Cultures

“The churches among us teach with complete unanimity,” “We believe, teach, and
confess,” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} —so the Augsburg
Confession and Formula of Concord begin. The question is, who is the ‘we’? Are these confessions the
marks and badges of some kind of ethnic church—the gospel contextualized for Germans? Or does the
‘we’ refer to people who lived long ago and far away in a pre-modern world? As such these confessions
could only serve as historical artifacts, preserving the ultimate religious concerns of a nation and a
culture that still believed in angels and demons and in a God who intervened into human affairs. But
they would be hardly applicable to people who embrace a modern worldview and scientific
understanding. And if the teachings of the Lutheran Confessions are either culturally or historically
conditioned like this, what point would there be in preserving this identity and planting it into another
culture? ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} It is difficult to see
how such a move could be anything else than a form of cultural imperialism.

In his classic study, Here We Stand: Nature and Character of the Lutheran Faith, Hermann Sasse
asserts that Lutheranism was not born from a desire to uphold an ethnic identity, nor can it be explained
as a mere cultural or historical movement. Neither can it be said that the Lutheran Confessions were
written to canonize the teachings of Martin Luther.

Allow me to let Sasse tell us in his own words. As to whether Lutheranism was simply an ethnic
or cultural phenomenon, he writes, “Never and nowhere does the Lutheran Church inquire after what is
German, but it inquires after what is true—the saving truth of God for all
men.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} To the question of
whether Luther’s teachings became the standard of truth for the confessors, Sasse replies, “The
confessional development…did not grow out of the question, ‘What is Luther teaching?’…(but), ‘What
does the Word of God teach,’ ‘What is the truth of the
gospel?’ ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

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Robert Kolb et al., The Book of
Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2nd ed. (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2001), AC I p.
37, FC p. 486.
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A popular move by some Lutherans is
to treat the Reformation as a historically conditioned event. Though most of its doctrines can no longer be taken
seriously, one can derive some overarching lessons from the event. Peter Berger for example speaks of what
lessons he derives from the Reformation, ‘As I understand it, the Lutheran Reformation had at its core an
exhilarating experience of liberation…It was a freeing from the doctrinal and moral rigidity of medieval Catholicism,
and then, by implication, from the rigidities of any other belief system,' “On Lutheran identity in America,”
Lutheran Quarterly 20, no. 3 (Aug 2006), 342.
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Hermann Sasse, Here we stand :
Nature and character of the Lutheran faith, translated, with revisions and additions, from the second German
edition, by Theodore G. Tappert (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1938), 48.
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Ibid., 70.

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 It is this quest for the truth of God’s Word—especially the truth of the unconditional gospel—
that is the key to understanding Lutheran identity. We seek nothing less than the faith that was “once
for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Wherever people seek the truth from God’s Word, wherever
people welcome the unconditional gospel, a Lutheran identity will be created and confessionalism will
find a home. It is from this perspective that we will explore in more specific terms what the unique
features of a Lutheran identity are.

Understanding our Lutheran Identity: Uniquely Scriptural, Uniquely Evangelical,

Uniquely Confessional
In a paper entitled “Our Identity as a WELS World Mission,” my father once spoke of our unique
reason for existence as a visible church. There was something distinctive about being a WELS Lutheran,
he felt. It meant being “uniquely evangelical, uniquely Scriptural, and uniquely confessional” in our
identity. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Certainly in this
respect we are conscious of no differences between ourselves and what orthodox Lutherans—indeed
faithful confessors of all ages and places—have always believed and characteristics they have always
shared. By God’s grace alone we have been able to retain these Lutheran distinctives among us. Let’s
take a closer look then at some of these essential facets of our identity, bearing in mind that they are
closely interrelated.

Uniquely Scriptural
Scripture is the supreme and final authority for a Lutheran in all matters of Christian faith and
life. To find out what our God has to say to us, we go back to the Scriptures. They alone are inspired by
God. They alone are without error. They alone are the “pure, clear fountain of Israel…the one true
standard by which all teachers and doctrines are to be judged and evaluated” (FC-SD, preface). What is
Scriptural, that is Lutheran. What is Lutheran, that is Scriptural.

In this connection, we can only lament a tendency in some Lutheran circles to treat the
confessions as if they were a sourcebook for doctrine and as a ruling norm for the Lutheran Church
rather than as the ruled norm. We joyfully and unreservedly embrace all doctrines that are taught in the
confessions, not because the confessions teach them, but because the Scriptures teach them. The
confessions faithfully expound what the Scriptures plainly
say. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

The implications of this for our identity are obvious: God in his grace still permits us to stand on
this firm, high ground amid other churches that are drowning in seas of hermeneutical relativism of
various types, from the historical critical method to postmodern ways of “reading” the Bible. These

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E.H. Wendland, “Our Identity as a
WELS World Mission,” (presented at the Manitowoc Pastoral Conference, Manitowoc, WI, 1995),
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/WendlandWELSIdentity.pdf.
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This is the stance of the confessions
themselves: “Other writings…are not judges, as is the Holy Scripture, but they are only witnesses and explanations
of the faith which show how Holy Scripture has at various times been understood and interpreted in the church of
God by those who lived at the time in regard to the articles of faith under dispute” (FC, Preface to the Epitome, 8.
Kolb/Wengert, p. 487).

2
deadly floods are not confined to Europe and America, but are found in every country under the sun. It
is simply naïve to pretend otherwise. Lutherans will be contending for sola Scriptura wherever they may
live!

We will also exercise care not to “go beyond what is written” as we seek to confess and apply
God’s truth. Unlike other churches that might share a “high” view of Scripture with us, Lutherans have
never believed that the Scriptures prescribed a single way of organizing the church and its
ministry. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Christ is not a new
lawgiver (John 1:17). ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} We
have never taught that differences in forms of worship—so long as those forms do not contradict or
obscure the gospel—were divisive of church fellowship. Instead we confess the truth of the Scriptures:

It is enough for the true unity of the church to agree concerning the teaching of the gospel and
the administration of the sacraments. It is not necessary that human traditions, rites, or
ceremonies instituted by human beings be alike
everywhere. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

At the same time, we will not allow any tradition or custom—whether of our own culture or of someone
else’s—to call into question or contradict a single clear word of Scripture.

Finally, as we train pastors and other church leaders in any place, we are committed in the long
term to help them gain all the skills necessary for searching the Scriptures diligently and thoroughly.
This includes a commitment to help church leaders gain the ability to read the Scriptures in the original
languages. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
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As Sasse puts it, “There is no specified
polity prescribe by divine command. Christ did not give his Church a definite organization by which it was to be
governed.” op. cit., 93.
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“Therefore it is a very wicked error
when the monks and sophists portray Christ as a new lawgiver after Moses, not unlike the error of the Turks, who
proclaim that their Mohammed is the new lawgiver after Christ. Those who portray Christ this way do Him a
supreme injury. He did not come to abrogate the old Law with the purpose of establishing a new one; but, as Paul
says here, He was sent into the world by the Father to redeem those who were being held captive under the Law.
These words portray Christ truly and accurately.”(LW, 26: comment on Galatians 4:5)
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
AC, VII Kolb et al., The Book of
Concord, 43.
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This aspect of Lutheran identity is not
in quite the same league as that of the Scriptures being our final authority. The latter is a matter of doctrine. The
emphasis on Biblical languages in training flows from it and is an application of it. No one would doubt that a
thorough training of pastors is necessary for a church that aspires to confess the whole truth of God’s Word
(Matthew 28:20; 1 Timothy 5:22; 2 Timothy 2:2). The exact definition of ‘thorough’ varies, though, according to
circumstance. Is the church in its infancy? Are we dealing with a culture that is literate, pre-literate, or post-
literate? Yet we can say that the acquisition of Biblical languages by church leaders has always been a goal for
confessional Lutherans, and its value has demonstrated itself in experience. As Luther puts it, “Although the
gospel came and still comes to us through the Holy Spirit alone, we cannot deny that it came through the medium
of languages, was spread abroad by that means, and must be preserved by the same means…In proportion then as
we value the gospel, let us zealously hold to the languages. For it was not without purpose that God caused his
Scriptures to be set down in these two languages alone—the Old Testament in Hebrew, the New in Greek. Now if
God did not despise them but chose them above all others for his word, then we too ought to honor them above

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 Uniquely Evangelical

In preaching law and gospel

The Lutheran identity is bound up in the unconditional gospel of justification. In their desire to
reform the church, the early confessors were not driven by any impulse to begin a new denomination.
Lutherans were not on a campaign to restore the ancient forms and the purer morality of the New
Testament church. What drove the evangelical movement was the gospel. The Reformation was “in its
essential nature, nothing less than a rediscovery of the
gospel.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

This gospel is unconditional because forgiveness comes to us by grace alone, and not because
we have earned or deserved it. “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s
sins against them” (2 Co 5:19). Christ died for all, for a whole world of sinners just like you and like me
(2 Co 5:14; 1 Jn 2:2; Jn 1:29). This is the pure gospel, the gospel with no strings attached. We receive
this gospel righteousness not by any good works that we have done, but by faith and by faith alone (Ro
1:17; Php 3:9; Ro 3:23-28).

This “radical
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
gospel” —ascribing, as it
does, all credit for salvation to God and none to man—goes hand in hand with the Scriptural
proclamation of “radical law.” The preaching of God’s wrath strikes at the root of humanity’s problem,
forcing us to confess that all our powers—even our highest spiritual strivings—are all corrupt from birth
and have created an unbridgeable chasm between us and our God. “This inherited sin has caused such a
deep, evil corruption of nature that reason does not comprehend it; rather, it must be believed on the
basis of the revelation in the
Scriptures” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} As to the
importance of this teaching for Lutheran identity, Martin Franzmann says:

One need read no farther than the Second Article of the Augsburg Confession to realize how
seriously the Confessions take the [doctrine of original sin]: Man as he is in Adam is sine metu
Dei, sine fiducia erga Deum, and cum concupiscentia—this is the gate of triple brass that bars his
way to God: he does not fear, he cannot trust the God who made him, and so must needs play
God himself and get what he wants when he wants it, without God, against God. He is the "lost
and condemned
creature. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

all others.” (LW: 45, 358-359).

ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Sasse, op.cit, 58.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
A term coined, I believe, by Martin H.
Franzmann, “Seven theses on Reformation hermeneutics.,” Concordia Journal 15, no. 3 (July 1, 1989): 339.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Kolb et al., The Book of Concord, SA,
Third Part, Art. 1 Concerning Sin, 311.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Martin Franzmann, “Scripture and
Interpretation,” in (Springfield, Illinois: Concordia Seminary Print Shop, 1961), 340.

4
Losing or de-emphasizing the Biblical doctrine of original sin undermines the teaching of justification and
obscures the merit of Christ. The Lutheran Church will always preach this radical law.

The rediscovery of the gospel means more for a Lutheran’s identity than simply to give him a
personal understanding of sin and grace. It is the hermeneutical key that unlocks the Scripture for every
believer. Only in Christ is the veil preventing a true understanding of Moses “taken away” (2 Co 3:14-
16). When Christ “opened up” his disciples minds so that they could understand the Scripture, he said,
“This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance
and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Lk 24:46-47).
When Luther rediscovered this truth, he said, “The whole Bible looked different to
me.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Previously he had seen
Jesus as his Judge and Lawgiver, prescribing the higher ethical righteousness demanded in the gospel.
Now he saw righteousness as a gift of God’s grace, won for him by Jesus, his loving Savior. Now he saw
that everything in the Scriptures revolved around this understanding of Christ, “Take Christ out of the
Scriptures, and what have you
left?” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

This is more than simply an insight of Luther’s. This Scriptural truth is the clear testimony of our
church:

Since this controversy deals with the most important topic of Christian teaching which, rightly
understood, illumines and magnifies the honor of Christ and is especially useful for the clear,
correct understanding of the entire Holy Scriptures, and alone shows the way to the
unspeakable treasure and right knowledge of Christ, and alone opens the door to the entire
Bible. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

Justification is the beating heart of the Scripture and God’s last and final word to humanity. “The law
was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

When Lutherans approach the Holy Scriptures, then, we expect to see—both in the Old and in
the New Testament—the record of God’s love for poor sinners. We interpret the Scriptures from the
standpoint of the gospel. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Yes
God acts mightily in judgment, and his wrath over all impends (as we are by nature and as we are

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as qtd. in Sasse, op. cit., 62.
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WA XVIII, 606, 29. Lutherans down
through the centuries have borne witness to this same truth. Hermann Sasse emphatically restates it, “But the
Bible can only "instruct us to salvation" because it contains the gospel, the message of the forgiveness of sins for
Christ's sake. Without this gospel, the Scriptures would be either an unintelligible, fragmentary document of a
chaotic history of religions, or a revelation of the incomprehensible wrath of God. Only the witness to Christ
makes a Bible out of the Bible, just as it is the sun which turns daytime into day. It is for this reason that the
doctrine of justification...is truly the key to the whole Bible” op. cit., 115-116. Martin Franzmann calls justification
the “res” (essential subject matter) of the Scriptures. op. cit., 337.
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Apology of the Augsburg Confession,
IV, 2-3 Kolb et al., The Book of Concord, 120-121.
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Sasse, op.cit, 142.

5
viewed apart from Christ). But the law and its condemnation are not God’s final word to us. His mercy
in Christ is—whether promised in the Old Testament through prophecy and type, or fulfilled in all its
glory in the New. The entire Bible is the account of God’s love come down to save us. This is the key
hermeneutical insight of the Lutheran Church.

This “evangelical” approach is truly unique and different from those visible Christian churches
that are popularly grouped as “evangelicals” or (describing a more narrow sub-group) the Reformed.
Some of them may still hold to a high view of Scripture. Most of them would consider the Scriptures to
be their final authority. But they generally do not consider law and gospel as two teachings that stand in
paradoxically sharp distinction (as Lutherans do); they rather see them as teachings that supplement
each other and that stand on roughly the same plane so far as the church’s proclamation is
concerned. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

This has an impact on how “evangelicals” interpret the Bible. Many of them treat the Scripture
as if it was intended mainly as a source book for divine “principles,” given for our instruction on every
conceivable topic from leadership to addictive behavior. They do not have the hermeneutical key that is
objective justification. They therefore do not see all of Scripture as the record of God’s love,
demonstrating itself in human history and finding its center in Christ
Jesus. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

The centrality of the gospel also has implications for a truly Lutheran understanding of the
Church’s mission. The preaching of the law, necessary as it is, will always be God’s strange work, his
opus alienum. In the gospel, however, God shows us his heart, and therefore the preaching of the
gospel will always be the “proper work,” the opus proprium for the Church which Christ has sent. It is
not, therefore, part of the essential mission of the Church to reform the morals of a culture or to make
legislative proposals to safeguard justice in
society. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} We may use the

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For a statement, see Karl Barth, ‘The
Law stands beside the Gospel, on the same footing, as part of the selfsame eternal treasure, as qtd. in Sasse, op.
cit., 123. Sasse remarks, “For Luther, faith is trust in the pledge of divine mercy” (122)…(but in the ) Westminster
confession ‘saving faith’ is first the acceptance as true of 'what so ever is revealed in the Word,’ and second a
conduct which conforms with "each particular passage thereof," "yielding obedience to the commands, trembling
at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God."(123). In other words, saving faith is combined and
confused with obedience.
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This became clear to me in our 2005
conference on Bible Storying, where our main presenter (a Baptist) made it clear that he approached the
Scriptures from the aspect of God’s sovereignty rather than from God’s love. That led him to teach many, if not
most, of the Old Testament stories as moral examples rather than as salvation history. He even went so far as to
limit explicit proclamation of Christ and his saving work until his chronological story cycles would bring him to the
infancy narratives, although there had been some mention of the Messiah prior to this. While I would suggest that
we all learned a great deal from this man’s experience, none of us was minded to slavishly follow his practice. As
Lutherans, we simply brought different commitments to the table.
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“Since Christ is not in his essential
nature, according to the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, a lawgiver, the Gospel cannot bring us new laws
concerning the civil state, but it permits us outwardly to use legitimate political ordinances of every nation in which
we live. This is not to say that the Lutheran Church has nothing to say on questions of social ethics. Ever since

6
same benchmark to evaluate humanitarian efforts as they relate to the Church’s work. We expect that
followers of Jesus would demonstrate in tangible ways their love for all. Humanitarian efforts have from
the beginning accompanied the gospel’s progress in the world (witness the collection for the saints in
Jerusalem!) But these efforts dare not become confused or blurred with the Church’s real mission as
Church. Christ has given his people one commission and that is to preach the gospel. If we fail to do
this, who will?

As mentioned already, the brilliance of the unconditional gospel can only properly be seen
against the dark backdrop of God’s wrath, a wrath that hangs over a humanity that is completely
perverse and corrupt (Ro 1-3). The only remedy for humanity’s woe is the gospel. As a uniquely
evangelical church, we understand this and it lends urgency to the way we carry out our Savior’s
commission. It makes us also a uniquely evangelistic church. Luther used to speak of how the love of
Christ would fill a Christian’s heart by faith, giving him the most perfect rest, and yet making him restless
until he had helped others into the same joy. How can it be otherwise for the people of God? “The love
of Christ compels us, for we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died, and he died for all
that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised
again” (2 Co 5:14). When you know who he is and why he came, you know who you are and why you’re
here.

Finally, this gospel is also the motive power for the new life of love that the Spirit produces in
believers. We are justified by faith alone, but genuine faith is never alone! “Because the Holy Spirit is
given through faith, the heart is also moved to do good
works” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Thus faith is indeed
a “living, busy, active, mighty thing”! As Christ loved us and gave himself for us, so we love our neighbor
and dedicate ourselves to serve him. Lutherans believe it is necessary for works to follow faith. They
never tire in encouraging one another in this new obedience. Wherever the gospel is sown, there a
genuine piety springs up by which believers offer their lives in love to each other in their various callings.

In the use of the means of grace

Lutherans are a ‘means of grace’ church. That means that we confess the Scriptural truth that
the Spirit does his saving work in us through the gospel in Word and in Sacrament. Convinced of God’s
promise that his word “will not return…empty” (Is 55:11), Lutherans know that Christ’s Church, though
invisible, can be found wherever “the gospel is taught purely and the sacraments are administered
rightly.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Word and
sacrament are the marks of the Church because the gospel creates the Church. Therefore we are

Luther, Lutheran theologians have been especially forthright in declaring the commandments of God even before
the mighty of this earth. But to them, this was not a preaching of the gospel but a preaching of the law....the
Lutheran church knows nothing about civil laws which are to be put into operation in Christ's name; it recognizes
only ordinances of God (Ro 13:2) and divine laws which obtain in every kind of society and state.” Sasse, op. cit.
136
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
AC, Article XX, 29 Kolb et al., The Book
of Concord, 56.
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AC, Article VI, 1 Kolb et al., The Book
of Concord, 43.

7
certain that wherever the gospel is, there must also be the
Church. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

We’ve said enough already about the implications of the pure gospel both as a hermeneutical
key to the Scriptures and as vital for understanding the mission of the church. Yet we should probably
say a little more about the implications of gospel for worship.

As mentioned already, Lutherans are free to arrange many things in the Church as seems best to
us. While believing that the public gospel ministry is Christ’s gift to his Church we do not imagine that
there is only one divinely-instituted outward form of it that must always, everywhere be exactly the
same. There is no one method of governing the church that the New Testament lays out. There is no
one divinely-prescribed order of worship that we might somehow derive from the writings of the
Apostles. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Lutherans
embrace that which is orderly, that which is loving, that which is wise, and above all, that which is
consistent with the gospel.

Preaching the Word is commanded by Christ. The Lord’s Supper and Baptism are sacred actions
instituted by Christ. When God promises to make us his own through the “washing with water through
the Word” (Eph 5:26), we cannot substitute in its place another ritual or ceremony. And when our Lord
invites us to eat and drink his body and blood under bread and wine, we are not free to alter his
invitation and do something else instead.

It is obvious that transferring a Lutheran identity across cultures will involve adaptations in
forms of worship. Piety, poetry, and music have their unique expressions in every culture and a
particular church will quite naturally incorporate authentic local idioms from the culture into its
worship. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} In this Lutherans
are free. But we are not free to change worship forms in such a way that the gospel in Word and
Sacrament ceases to be worship’s beating heart. We are not free to demote the gospel from the central
role in worship to some kind of supporting role. We are not free to act as if Baptism or the Lord’s
Supper were less important channels for the gospel than the proclaimed Word. If someone tampers
with either the Supper or Baptism, he is tampering with the gospel. A key aspect of the Lutheran
expectation for worship is the conviction that, in worship, our gracious God meets us through the means
of grace.

ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

“A Lutheran knows with the full
certainty of his faith...that wherever the gospel is rightly taught, faith arises...Thus the means of grace are marks by
which a Christian can ascertain the presence of the true church.” Sasse, op. cit., 126.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
The desire to find an authentic New
Testament polity for the church, as well as the attempt to repristinate and restore an ancient and pure New
Testament form of worship was, speaking historically, always more of a concern for Reformed and evangelical
churches. Lutherans never worried about such matters.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
“Lutheranism has always been of the
opinion that the Gospel is the same for all peoples and all races. It has steadfastly maintainted that, despite all the
natural variations among men which are and should be reflected in their piety as well as in the external
organization of the church and the forms of worship, there can be a real consensus de doctrina evangelii et de
administratione sacramentorum among Christians of every tongue and nationality” Sasse, op. cit., 107-108.

8
 But there’s more to be said and one more important question to be answered. For Lutherans,
the liturgy is unquestionably an adiaphoron. Undoubtedly among us there has always been a great deal
of liturgical variation. Yet why, at the time of the Reformation, did Lutherans still “cling (so) tenaciously
to the old forms of
worship” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} ? For a number of
reasons. First of all, they did so because they found in the ancient songs of the liturgy wonderful
summaries of gospel truths. They also believed that the appointed readings, the church year, and the
basic order of service (once it had been purified of its idolatrous elements) all provided an orderly and
excellent framework in which the centrality of the gospel was clearly maintained. Finally, they held onto
the liturgy because they wanted to express their unity and identity with the universal church. This last
reason is worthy of further consideration.

In the Augsburg Confession, Melanchthon took pains to point out that “The Mass (in the sense
of the worship service) is retained among us and is celebrated with the greatest
reverence. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Almost all the
customary ceremonies are also retained.” “Nothing has been accepted among us, in teaching or in
ceremonies, that is contrary to the Scripture or the catholic [i.e. universal]
church.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Sasse explains why:

The Lutheran theologian acknowledges that he belongs to the same visible church to which
Thomas Aquinas and Bernard of Clairvaux, Augustine and Tertullian, Athanasius and Irenaeus
once belonged. The orthodox evangelical church is the legitimate continuation of the medieval
Catholic Church, not the Church of the Council of Trent…which renounced the evangelical
church when it rejected the
reformation. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

In other words, the medieval church is our church. The church of the early Roman empire is our church.
Though we see clearly the errors and abuses that crept in through the centuries, we rejoice that the
gospel was still preached—if nowhere else than in the readings and in Baptism—and that Christ was still
gathering his believers around it. As we have noted, Lutherans never intended to create a new visible
church; they were eager to express their continuity with that church which had existed through the
ages.

Is this value still worth expressing as Lutheranism moves from one culture to another? I believe
it is. There is no need to make this into a law; in fact we dare not if we wish to maintain the integrity of
our gospel-centered, confessional identity. The gospel creates its own forms among believers, we say,
and the saying is true. But not as if those believers were living in splendid isolation, nor as if Christians
had to start from scratch in each new place being favored by the gospel shower. Apropos still are the
questions Paul posed to the Corinthian Christians, “Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Sasse, op. cit., 103.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
AC XXIV, 1-2 Kolb et al., The Book of
Concord, 69.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
AC Conclusion Ibid.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Sasse, op. cit., 102

9
the only people it has reached?” (1 Co 14:36). And so we ask, is it not possible to find a way to express
this deep Lutheran consciousness of continuity with the living church of all ages and places in our
worship forms? We affirm, “The church can get along without the liturgy if it
must.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} But must we? I ask
as one who has heard the Ulemerero (the Gloria in Excelsis) in the heart language, poetry, and musical
idioms of the Chewa people, and been profoundly moved in thinking that on that same Sunday,
Christians around the world were praising God with this same song.

Uniquely Confessional
Confession is natural for a believer (Ro 10:8-10). We confess the unique nature of our God:
“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one” (Dt 6:4); “Christ is Lord” (Php 2:1). We “remember the
wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced” (1 Chr 16:12). We recall Paul’s
solemn words to the Corinthians, “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,
which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold
firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed
on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was
buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Co 15:1-4).

But though the truth of the gospel is objective, we do not confess it in a cold, dispassionate way
as if we were running down a list of inventory from some doctrinal warehouse. That’s because for us
doctrine is life. We know that “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from
the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4). As faith rejoices and says of God’s promises, “For me!” so in confessing
them, we joyfully proclaim them “for
you” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} —to the praise and
glory of our God! Convinced of “the profound seriousness of
truth,” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} we know that truth
saves, that lies kill, and that our God will hold us accountable for every idle word we speak (Jn 6:63; 2 Ti
2:17; Mt 12:36). ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Whatever
we teach as a doctrine for the Church to believe, we teach as those profoundly aware that we stand
before the judgment seat of God. We will have to answer to him if we presume to speak where he has
not spoken.

A confessor also understands that if you “take away assertions and you will take away
Christianity”. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} We are not

ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

Sasse, op. cit., 172
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
As Luther once remarked, “Religion is
in the pronouns.”
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Sasse, op.cit., viii.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Sasse, “[The orthodox Lutheran
dogmaticians] knew one thing that modern man does not know and does not care to know. They knew that as
individuals and nations, we literally live by truth and die by falsehood. Hence they never shared the cold
skepticism and wearied resignation of modern relativism” op. cit., 89.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
LW 33:20

10
seeking to create a fellowship of “more and more who believe less and less.” In making our assertions,
our hearts are bound by all that God has said:

A Christian confession of faith is in principle always a confession to the entire Word of God. The
denial, adulteration, or suppression of any word of God does not stem from faith but from
unbelief. Jn 8:31; Mt 5:19; 1 Pe 4:11; Jer 23:28, 31; Dt 4:2; Rev 22:18,
19. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

For us, the persistent denial or suppression of even a single truth clearly taught in Scripture is simply not
to be tolerated. God will also hold us accountable if we remain silent when Scripture has clearly spoken.
Our commitment must always be to speak the whole truth of God in love (Eph 4:15).

A confessor is not surprised if the same Word that unites also divides. It has been doing so from
the beginning. This is part of the holy cross every follower of Jesus must carry. In John 6 we are told
that the majority of Jesus’ followers parted company with him because they found his teachings too
hard to accept. When Jesus then asked the Twelve if they were going to leave too, Peter answered for
them all, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Yet, as Jesus
immediately pointed out, even one of the Twelve would be controlled by the Devil (John 6:70).

Because Lutherans are convinced from Scripture of the truths we confess, we are a church that
freely binds itself to the Lutheran Confessions. The Confessions express what the Scriptures have to say
with respect to every doctrine they affirm. They also speak an authoritative and Scriptural “no” to false
teachings that rob Christ of his glory. Far from being “paper fences,” they breathe with the living gospel
and its power.

Some have questioned the relevance of sharing the Confessions across cultures. Yet it is pure
romanticism to believe that other cultures cannot and will not be infected by the same false doctrines
that have plagued the Church in prior ages. True enough, Satan does adjust his tactics from culture to
culture. But when we take the long view through history, we discover that all his tricks are merely
variations on familiar themes. Then, too, there is simply no place on earth where the ever shifting winds
of false doctrine do not blow in from the outside. In Kumba, Cameroon, I read statements from the local
Presbyterian church of which Bultmann or any negative historical critic would have been proud.

Add to this the fact that the Lutheran Confessions are really all about the gospel. The gospel is
the cantus firmus—the strong and basic thematic melody—that runs throughout the
Confessions. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"69","position":2,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/WQG8C4DV"]}]} The
confessors’ chief concern—whether in thesis or in antithesis—was to keep the gospel
pure. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} In evaluating any
teaching or in understanding any Bible passage, the Confessions tell us, “Perpetua voluntas evangellii
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Doctrinal Statements of the WELS, 31-
32
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"69","position":2,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/WQG8C4DV"]}]}
I am indebted to Martin Franzmann
for this memorable expression. See: “Seven theses on Reformation hermeneutics.,” 341.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Sasse, “The whole interest (of the
Confessions) was in the teaching of the gospel,” op. cit., 69.

11
consideranda est—the entire thrust of the gospel must be kept in
mind.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} If the Confessions no
longer seem relevant to us, one has to ask whether our love for the pure gospel hasn’t grown cold.

To sum this section up: to have a Lutheran identity is to have our hearts bound by God’s Word.
As a visible church body we have something priceless—the unconditional gospel—to share with the
world. We feel no need to apologize for this nor do we think we are engaging in ethnocentric arrogance
if we make such a claim. As a church, our goal in outreach is a spiritual one. We do not want the
preaching of the gospel to play second fiddle to humanitarian efforts (as laudable and important as they
may be for Christians to do). We do not, as so many churches, believe that our mission is to work for
social justice. Our primary goal is to grow churches that will, together with us, give a truthful and
consistent witness to the unconditional gospel. We embrace the Lutheran Confessions unreservedly as
faithful witnesses to that truth. When we remember who we are, we will know why we are laboring in
whatever country or culture we may serve. We will be less likely to succumb to the pressures of
pluralism and false ecumenism that exist in every place.

Fostering a Lutheran Identity Across Cultures

Partnership in the Gospel

As we seek to transfer a genuinely Lutheran, gospel-centered, and Biblical identity across
cultures, a key goal must be to view the relationship between the two cultures as a loving partnership.
Everyone who seeks to work in a context different from his own birth culture must realize that every
teacher is also a disciple. To put it in the words of one of my favorite Tonga proverbs, “Maanu oonse
takhali mu mutwe omwe—All wisdom does not reside in one head!” Lutherans have a rich treasury of
Scriptural truth to share. But whenever we share Christ across cultures, we will receive as well as give.

Consider the heart of Apostle Paul. He was “not ashamed” of the gospel. He was fully
convinced of its saving power (Ro 1:16). As one with full apostolic authority, he knew he had something
precious to share with all the peoples and cultures of the world. In fact, he considered the gospel a debt
he owed to others (Ro 1:1, 14). And so he fixed his sights on Rome. He wanted to “impart some
spiritual gift” by “preach(ing) the gospel” also to them (Ro 1:11, 14). Yet this greatest of all missionaries
also had the heartfelt desire and earnest expectation that, once he got to Rome, both the Romans and
he would be “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Ro 1:12). This concept of the blessed
reciprocity of giving and receiving (the very essence of true κοινωνία) we see everywhere reflected in
Paul’s letters (Romans 15:25-32; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7; 8-9; Philippians 1:7; 4:14-19).

Contrast this servant-hearted and gospel-centered humility with a know-it-all attitude that can
so easily arise in the hearts of the orthodox. With his trickery, the Devil can replace a grace-filled
confidence in the gospel with an arrogance that seeks to control and dominate others. No one is
immune to this. It leads to jealousy and envy and dissension among servants of God. We all must
confess that, at times, an overbearing sense of our own “rightness” kept us from hearing what we
needed to hear from our brothers and sisters.

ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

CA 28:65 (Triglot p. 92).

12
 In this connection I believe it’s worth taking the time to parse a doctrinal statement that has
caused trouble for some in WELS mission circles as they worried about whether, in transferring a
Lutheran identity across cultures, we might be seeking to impose a cultural hegemony that has nothing
to do with the gospel. What do we mean when we speak of the need to be “united” in our fellowship
“in doctrine and practice”? As it was discussed in the mid-nineties, some seemed to suggest that, with
the above phrase, WELS Lutherans were seeking to impose an absolute conformity among sister
churches, so that every church custom and application of God’s Word had to be the same everywhere.
Perhaps some missionaries were confused by the expression and thought they had to impose such a
uniformity. Or perhaps some nationals in the sister church were beginning to think that practices
originating with missionaries were to be seen as sacrosanct, the “only right way” of doing
things. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

In any case, when it comes to an appropriate understanding of how best to contextualize a

Lutheran identity, the phrase “doctrine and practice” does not refer to “customs and
adiaphora.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Nor does it
even refer to “particular applications of doctrinal
principles.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} It rather refers
to the need for visible churches to “put their doctrinal positions into practice in…daily
life.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

If, for example, a church body taught closed communion (something integral to a Lutheran
understanding of church fellowship and the Lord’s Supper), but did not exercise church discipline on
pastors and congregations acting contrary to this Scriptural position, that church body would not be
walking together with WELS “in doctrine and
practice.” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} When, on the
other hand, a church body confesses the total depravity of humanity—also of infants—and, believing
baptism to be a means of grace, baptizes infants, they are in agreement with us in doctrine and practice,
even though they may have their own liturgical rite for baptism.

Another example of this might be marriage practices and their legal requirements. As a pastor
in Hopkins, Michigan, I might get excited if two people in my congregation were living together without
a legally contracted marriage, duly licensed by the state. A national pastor in Mwembezhi, Zambia, could
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
It can, of course, happen entirely
innocently and without intention. When everything is new, it isn’t unusual that missionaries—who after all need
to start somewhere—draw on previous experience and suggest a particular practice, let’s say, in church
organization or in liturgical forms. It’s also not hard to see why these “practices” become hallowed over time. This
speaks to the need to involve the nationals in such decisions from the very beginning, as well as to the need to
clearly distinguish what we do for reasons of love and good order, and what we do as a matter of doctrine. Here is
where the reciprocity of giving and receiving must be expressed.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
“Agreement in Doctrine and Practice”
A Reaction from the CICR to Questions Raised by the World Missionary Conference”—from a BWM World Mission
File
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Ibid.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Ibid.
ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}
Ibid. Paraphrasing.

13
be fairly tranquil with the same situation since most marriages at that time and context occurred under
traditional law, without benefit of any official marriage license. Though I and my fellow pastor may be
applying the Word somewhat differently given the differing situations, we can still be one in doctrine
and practice. While its applications may differ from culture to culture, the biblical truth we are applying
remains the same.

It’s in the application of God’s truth to specific situations in another culture where the
missionary perhaps most needs to grasp the importance of listening and learning from his brothers and
sisters in the national church. Let the missionary focus on teaching the principles of God’s Word.
National workers, however, are often in a better position to wrestle with their implications for their own
culture. This is not to say that missionaries are to be completely hands off when it comes to applying
God’s truth. They must give clear testimony when it is called for. They can and should ask probing
questions and promote discussion.

But far too often I have witnessed missionaries shoot from the hip and give their opinion when it
would have been far better for them to ask their brothers and sisters in the national church how best to
apply the truths that they too had become convinced of. I’m sure I’ve been guilty of doing the same
thing myself. If our fellow believers truly are hesitant to apply a truth where it is clearly called for,
perhaps it would be better to re-teach the principle rather than force the
application. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]} Similarly, when
there are differences in application from church to the next, I would expect that we wouldn’t
immediately pounce on those differences as evidence of incipient heresy. Here too we can often gain a
broader spiritual perspective if we are willing to learn from each other.

Let’s zero in now on how this partnership across cultures may play out with respect to the
Lutheran’s confessional desire to declare the whole truth and rebuke error. A certain culture prizes
social harmony above almost all other values. It may feel some disquiet over the blunt way Westerners
sometimes express their disagreement with error. First of all, let it be said that a Lutheran’s
confessional identity doesn’t change simply because he lives on the other side of the Pacific or Atlantic.
Special pleading about the uniqueness of a particular cultural context can finally make any clearly
revealed Scriptural truth go away.

But let us assume that the national pastors and the leaders of our sister church are fully on
board with both aspects of the truth: the need to confess what is right and the need to condemn what is
contrary to God’s Word. Similarly, the missionaries are fully committed to teaching the whole counsel of
God. In such a situation it would be foolish, I believe, for missionaries not to work in close partnership
with the host church, earnestly seeking their counsel over the best way to express in their situation what
we might call “the other side of truth.”

ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {"citationItems":[{"locator":"341","position":1,"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/105753/items/S2WUISS4"]}]}

As an example here I might mention a
practice in the early days of the dispensary in Mwembezhi where nurses from America would yank the “charms”
from the bodies of children they were treating, even though the mothers remained unconvinced that these charms
were idolatrous. In a similar way, many traditional practices in Zambia were far better understood and rebuked by
nationals—who understood them from the inside—than by missionaries.

14
 Obviously we don’t want to cave into cultural considerations in a way that trumps the clear
witness and example of Scripture. But we can learn from the host culture how best to carry out our holy
obligation to refute error within that context. Similarly, I believe it is important for the nationals to take
the lead in applying Biblical principles to their own contexts. As they do so, I have no doubt they will
increase our appreciation for God’s Word and give us greater understanding in how to apply it in all
circumstances.

God will enrich us mightily when we approach cross-cultural work expecting to receive as well as
give, to learn as well as teach.

Long-term Commitment in Deed as Well as Word

The unity we enjoy in Christ and his teaching is a precious gift; it can be lost if we despise it.
Experience has shown that any Lutheran church body can lose its uniquely Scriptural, evangelical, and
confessional identity. We need each other’s help and encouragement in the Word if we wish to hold
onto it. Here one might say, the best defense against the Devil is offense. We need to encourage and
foster our worldwide fellowship by continuing to provide occasions where we can gather and jointly
grow in the Word. If we neglect this relationship, we will have only ourselves to blame if we begin to
forget who we are.

In large part this desire to encourage one another was the motivating force for the
establishment of the CELC. It inspired the guidelines between the BWM and the CICR in working with
churches that either are or desire to become in fellowship with WELS. More recently still it was seen in
the cooperation between the BWM and the CICR in providing CICR liaisons for churches that may still be
under the BWM’s umbrella, but which are quickly moving towards maturity. The desire in that case was
to give the CICR an interval of time in which they could establish a relationship with such a church body
before it became independent of the BWM. Finally, BWM’s funding of a World Mission Seminary
Professor at WLS is a clear expression of our commitment to build one another up in our common faith.

One can only hope that such efforts will continue to be made and to receive appropriate funding
in our midst.

Conclusion
In an age of false ecumenism, some may well question the wisdom or need for maintaining a
truly Lutheran identity. “Consider,” people say, “The threats that exist everywhere rising against the
church: the rampant secularism of the West, militant Islam in the East. Wouldn’t it be better in these
battles to join up as one visible church with a united witness?” But a valid witness to the truth will never
be made at the expense of the truth. And the truth of the gospel is really at the heart of the matter
here. A Lutheran’s identity is bound up in the unconditional gospel as we have come to know it from
God’s inspired, inerrant Word. As long as that truth is relevant, so will be what “we [Lutherans] believe,
teach, and confess!”

Granted it can be a struggle sometimes to contextualize this confessional identity as Lutherans

(following the gospel shower) move from one culture to another. Yet at the same time I believe we
make it too hard for ourselves. As long as we are firmly committed to being who we are (recognizing

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our unique Lutheran identity as those blessed with the unconditional gospel), we can’t go far wrong.
Then it is simply a matter of recognizing that we must work in continuing partnership with others,
expecting to receive as well as give and challenging one another to apply the truths we’ve become,
convinced of. And what great spiritual blessings we will all receive, as we witness one another’s firm
conviction and as we contend together for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints!

Paul O. Wendland
World Mission Seminary Conference, Mequon
August 9 to 13, 2010

Select Bibliography
Berger, Peter L. “On Lutheran identity in America.” Lutheran Quarterly 20, no. 3 (Aug 2006): 337-347.
Franzmann, Martin H. “Seven theses on Reformation hermeneutics..” Concordia Journal 15, no. 3 (July 1,
1989): 337-350.
Sasse, Hermann. Here we stand : Nature and character of the Lutheran faith / by Hermann Sasse,
translated, with revisions and additions, from the second German edition, by Theodore G.
Tappert. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1938.
Wendland, E.H. “Our Identity as a WELS World Mission.” Manitowoc, WI, 1995.
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/WendlandWELSIdentity.pdf.

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