Lutheran Confessions

(This excerpt is from Ecumenicism: Vision of the ELCA) http://www.elca.org/ea/Vision.html

The concern for the unity of the church articulated in Scripture enjoyed considerable prominence in the first centuries of the history of the church. It was expressed in the Apostles’ Creed and especially in the Nicene Constantinopolitan Creed of A.D. 381. These ecumenical symbols, along with the Athanasian Creed, were included in the Book of Concord in 1580. Their inclusion, as well as the first articles of the Augsburg Confession, shows the desire of the Lutheran Reformers to identify with the biblical and patristic tradition.

The Lutheran Confessions were the products of an effort at evangelical reform, which, contrary to its intention, resulted in divisions within the Western church. As evangelical writings, they stress justification by grace through faith alone as the criterion for judging all church doctrine and life. As catholic writings, they assert that the Gospel is essential to the church for being one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Their evangelical and catholic aspects are complementary, not contradictory. When a particular misinterpretation of the catholic tradition conflicts with the Gospel, the classic Lutheran confessional choice was and remains for the Gospel. They are concerned for the oneness of Christ’s church under the Gospel, the preservation of the true catholic heritage, and the renewal of the church as a whole. That the Confessions have such concerns can be seen from the following:

1. They always point to Scripture, with its stress on teaching the truth of the Gospel–which they see as the only sufficient basis for Christian unity–as normative. Because of this evangelical stress they also point to Scripture’s confession of one Lord and one church as basic for understanding Christian unity.

2. They begin with the ancient ecumenical creeds–Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian–as "the three chief symbols." Lutherans always have a common basis with those who share these creeds and the Bible.

3. They draw upon the theological reflection of the early church leaders in East and West, and thus share a resource with those who also know and honor the theologians of the patristic era.

4. While many of the Lutheran Confessions were hammered out in the struggles of the sixteenth century and dwell on the differences with the Roman Catholics, the Reformed, the Anabaptists, and even some Lutherans, they also contained, whether specifically noted or not, many points of basic agreement with such groups.

5. The primary Lutheran confessional document, the Augsburg Confession of 1530, claims to be a fully catholic as well as an evangelical expression of Christian faith. Part I, which lists the chief articles of faith, states that the Confession is grounded clearly in Scripture and does not depart form the universal Christian [that is, catholic] church. The confessors at Augsburg asked only for freedom to preach and worship in accordance with the Gospel. They were willing, upon recognition of the legitimacy of these reforms, to remain in fellowship with those who did not share every theological formulation or reforming practice [Augsburg Confession, Preface, Article XV, Article XXVIII and Conclusion]. It is in this historical context that Article VII is to be understood: "for the true unity of the church it is enough (satis est) to agree concerning the teaching of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments." The confessors allowed for diversity of opinion and discussion of many other matters (see Smalcald Articles, Part III, introduction).

The historical situation is now different. Today the western church is divided into hundreds of denominations; moreover, in the nineteenth century the urgency of missionary proclamation underscored the scandal of a divided church. Such developments challenge the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to strive toward fuller expressions of unity with as many denominations as possible.

Lutherans may differ in evaluating the difference between the sixteenth century and the present. Some Lutherans in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America hold that unity was already broken when the confessors presented the Augsburg Confession in 1530; others hold that the confessors were attempting to maintain a unity that still existed. But all agree that the "satis est" of Augsburg Confession VII established an ecumenical principle as valid today as it was in 1530. Augsburg Confession VII continues to be ecumenically liberating because of its claim that the truth of the Gospel is the catholic faith and is sufficient for the true unity of the church.

In today’s denominationalism the satis est provides an ecumenical resource and basis to move to growing levels of fellowship [i.e., communion] among divided churches. Article VII remains fundamental for Lutheran ecumenical activity; its primary meaning is that only those things that convey salvation, justification by grace through faith, are allowed to be signs and constitutive elements of the church. Yet, for all its cohesiveness and precision, Article VII does not present a complete doctrine of the church. It is not in the first instance an expression of a falsely understood ecumenical openness and freedom from church order, customs, and usages in the church. What it says is essential for understanding the unity of the church, but does not exhaust what must be said. The primary meaning of Article VII is that only those things that convey salvation, justification by grace through faith, are allowed to be signs and constitutive elements of the church. It is also necessary to recognize the evangelical and ecclesiological implications of the missionary situation of the global church in our time, which did not exist in the 16th century.

Article VII of the Augsburg Confession continues to be ecumenically freeing because of its insistence that agreement in the Gospel suffices for Christian unity. As Lutherans seek to enter into fellowship without insisting on doctrinal or ecclesiastical uniformity, they place an ecumenical emphasis on common formulation and expression of theological consensus on the Gospel. There is room for recognizing, living and experiencing fellowship within the context of seeking together larger theological agreement, of constantly searching critically for the theological truth of the Gospel to be proclaimed together in the present critical time of our world.

6. Other Lutheran confessional documents, though differing in nature and purpose from each other, are consistent with the Augsburg Confession on church unity. For example:

a. The Small Catechism teaches in a simple form the evangelical and catholic faith, so that this faith may be known by all the people of God.

b. The Formula of Concord of 1577 reflects, in detail, inner Lutheran theological debate and disagreement, and suggests, in spite of its emphasis on rejection and condemnation of errors and contrary doctrine, the possibility of resolving and reconciling differences "under the guidance of the Word of God."

Rooted in this biblical and confessional understanding as stated in its Confession of Faith (ELCA Constitution, Chapter 2), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America identifies itself with this vision of a greater wholeness of Christ’s people.

Chapter 4 of the constitution, "Statement of Purpose," declares that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is committed both to Lutheran unity and to Christian unity (4.03.d. and 4.03.f.).

The understanding of ecumenism in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America embraces more than Lutheran denominations. This church rejoices in the movement toward agreement in the Gospel with other churches of differing historical and theological heritages. The degree of openness on the part of others and our own confessional commitment have a bearing upon the developing relations and growth in unity with "all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours" (1 Corinthians 1:2).