To Commission Biblical Study of Lending within the Church

WHEREAS, The “other Great Commandment,” to “Love our Neighbor,” is clearly reflected in the Mosaic Covenant when it commands the people of Israel concerning usurious practices of extracting gain from the needs of the most poor saying, “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a money lender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him” (Ex. 22:25); and

WHEREAS, We further hear this Great Commandment reflected in the Mosaic Covenant when it speaks to how the people of Israel are to regard the needs of their brothers saying, “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God” (Lev. 25:35–38); and

WHEREAS, The Mosaic Covenant also taught the people of Israel to love one another saying “You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it” (Deut. 23:19–20); and

WHEREAS, The King and prophet David spoke of the moral law that calls our hearts to repentance when he writes is Psalm 15, “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? ... who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved”; and

WHEREAS, The King and prophet Solomon spoke of the vain usurious gain saying, “Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor” (Prov. 28:8); and

WHEREAS, The prophet Ezekiel describes the righteous Israelite saying, “If aman is righteous and does what isjust and right … does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God” (Ezek. 18:5, 8–9); and

WHEREAS, The prophet Ezekiel describes the sin of the leaders of Israel saying, “In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me, you have forgotten, declares the Lord God” (Ezek. 22:12); and

WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus Christ revealed the full scope of the moral law by prohibiting the taking of any gain not only from the poor, or our brothers, but even to our enemies when he taught in the sermon on the plain saying, “And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:34–35); and

WHEREAS, The practice of taking gain by interest was not considered a mere element of the Mosaic Covenant but a practice of Christian love is clearly taught by many of the church when we hear them speak thus: His money he will not give on usury, and will not take interest … this is a righteous man. He shall surely live, saith the Lord. These words contain a description of the conduct of Christians, a notable exhortation to the blessed life, which is the reward of a life of goodness—everlasting life. (Clement of Alexandria) If anyone takes usury,he commits robbery and no longer has life. (Ambrose of Milan) I would not have you be lenders of money on usury; and I would not have you be such for this reason, because God would not have you. Whence does it appear that God would not have it so? It is said in another place, “He that puts not out his money to usury.” And how detestable, odious, and execrable a thing it is, I believe that even usurers themselves know. (St. Augustine) If thou hast lent thy money on usury to man, that is, if thou hast given the loan of thy money to one, from whom thou dost expect to receive something more than thou hast given, not in money only, but anything, whether it be wheat, or wine, or oil, or whatever else you please, if you expect to receive more than you have given, you are a usurer, and in this particular are not deserving of praise, but of censure (St. Augustine) I would not have you become usurers, because it is repugnant to the law of God. (St. Augustine) Even as a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough, even so usury, when it comes into any man's house, draws all his substance, and changes it into debt. (St. John Ch ry sos tom) Lending money at interest is a mortal sin. And it is not a sin because it is prohibited,but rather prohibited because it is as such a sin. (Sir Thomas Aquinas) Some think there is no usury but in money. This the holy Scriptures foresaw, and therefore takes away the increase or gains in any manner of thing, and requires that you receive no more than you gave. (St. Jerome) Forasmuch as many enrolled among the Clergy, following covetousness and lust of gain, have forgotten the divine Scripture, which says, He has not given his money upon usury, and in lending money ask the hundredth of the sum [as monthly interest], the holy and great Synod thinks it just that if after this decree anyone be found to receive usury, whether he accomplish it by secret transaction or otherwise, as by demanding the whole and one half, or by using any other contrivance whatever for filthy lucre’s sake, he shall be deposed from the clergy and his name stricken from the list. (17th Cannon of the Council of Nicaea) He who lends expecting to get back something more or something better than he has loaned, is clearly a damned usurer. (Martin Luther) According to God’s Word, usury is a mortal sin that excludes one from the kingdom of God when it is knowingly committed. (C.F.W. Walther) and

WHEREAS, Moses instructs repayment in Exodus stating, “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep” (Ex. 22:1); and

WHEREAS, Jesus utilizes the parable of the talents that commends the servants who use the vast sums of money, which was entrusted to them by the master, to trade with and increase the money by 100 percent and condemns the failure of the servant who did not at least put the money in the bank where it would earn interest; and

WHEREAS, Paul instructs the Romans to “owe no one anything, except to love each other” (Rom. 13:8); and

WHEREAS, Paul writes to the Thessalonians: “Foryou yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you” (2 Thess. 3:7–8); and

WHEREAS, Jesus asserts that the laborer deserves his wages; and

WHEREAS, The economic system today is significantly different from the systems present in the Scriptures; and

WHEREAS, The value of currency changes over time so that repayment of debts with interest can actually result in loss for the loaning party as inflation changes the value of individual currencies of nations; and

WHEREAS, The management of loans requires labor; and

WHEREAS, Our own Synod never completed its conversation of the practice of usury that was brought to the forefront of the 1869 convention where C.F.W. Walther presented and the convention accepted several sentences that would guide our conversation of usury when we said, “Neither customary habit—sanctioned by a hundred years of usage—nor financial advantages or disadvantages, nor exclamations or authorities of humans, whether of Luther, Chemnitz, Andreae, or Gerhard, but rather Holy Scripture shall be the benchmark according to which we measure this doctrine”;

therefore be it

Resolved, That the 68th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod direct the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) to study the biblical teachings on the practice of taking interest on loans and its impact on the Body of Christ; and be it further

Resolved, That the CTCR report its findings before the 69th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Circuits 1 and 2 (Northeast Georgia and Atlanta North)