To Affirm the Church’s Freedom to Celebrate the Divine Service

WHEREAS, To obtain saving faith, God has given the Word and Sacraments and instituted the Office of the Ministry to administer these gifts (Matt. 28:18–20; John 20:21–23; Augsburg Confession [AC] V 1–3; AC XIV); and

WHEREAS, The church is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is purely preached, and the Holy Sacraments are administered according to the Gospel (AC VII 1), and God has commanded His people to gather to hear His Word and receive His Sacraments (Acts 2:42; 1 Tim. 4:13; Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 11:24–25), just as the Lutheran Confessions say that the Sacrament of the Altar is celebrated every Lord’s day (Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV 1); and

WHEREAS, God has designed His creation with three estates— the family, the church, and the government; and

WHEREAS, These three estates remain (and continue their defining functions) until the end of time, even during pandemic, famine, war, etc.; and

WHEREAS, The authority of the government in relation to the Fourth Commandment is derived from the estate of the family, “For all other authority is derived and developed out of the authority of parents” (Large Catechism I 141); and

WHEREAS, The government is given by God to reward good and punish evil and maintain order as defined by God’s holy will (Romans 13; AC XVI 1–2), and deals with bodies and goods, not spiritual matters (AC XXVIII 11); and

WHEREAS, The church rightfully operates in God’s right hand rule through the Gospel as she seeks to bring forgiveness and salvation through Christ’s means of grace; and

WHEREAS, The government rightfully operates in God’s left hand rule,as it works through the Lawto maintain order and restrain sin; and

WHEREAS, The church is not entirely independent of the government’s left hand rule as she deals with non-spiritual matters of operation (zoning laws, building permits, occupancy permits, etc.); and

WHEREAS, The First Amendment to the United States Constitution recognizes the rights of free exercise of religion and assembly; and

WHEREAS, The government has no God-given authority over the spiritual matters of the church’s administration of the Means of Grace as they take place in the Divine Service; therefore be it

Resolved, That we affirm the church’s and family’s status as having their God-given role in caring for both body and soul; and be it further

Resolved, That we confess that the government has no God- given authority to place restrictions on the church’s ability to celebrate the Divine Service; and be it further

Resolved, That we hold the government to have exceeded its God-given authority in placing restrictions on the church that did not apply elsewhere; and be it further

Resolved,That we affirm that in time of pandemic or public crisis the church in Christian freedom should seek to implement measures that serve the public good while continuing to carryout her essential role of offering the Word and the Sacraments in the Divine Service;

and be it further

Resolved, That we exhort and encourage one another to confess boldly the essential nature and function of the church, especially in the event of future government-mandated shutdowns or restrictions to the celebration of the Divine Service; and be it further

Resolved, That we confess to the world that only the Gospel of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ can provide final victory over sin, sickness, and death; and be it further

Resolved, That the congregations of the Central Illinois District will be encouraged to take notice of all government actions regarding public health, and while “seeking to live at peace with all men,” the church will implement those actions that, in her own judgment, do not interfere with her God-given functions, while respectfully choosing not to observe any government decree, mandate, executive action, law, or court order which does so interfere, according to her own God-given authority to do so and regardless of the civil government’s permission or restrictions; and be it finally

Resolved, That the district in convention memorialize the 2023 Synod convention to affirm the church’s freedom to celebrate the Divine Service.